Reminiscing the Harem The Snake
by Lashana Inferno
Summary: Ever wonder how an Elf and a Quetzacoatl first met and became friends? And more importantly, why Malcho let Lashana draft him into the Harem? Well, wonder no more! *COMPLETE!*
1. The Beginning

_Hey all. Lashana here. Once again, we own only ourselves, Tvashtar and Kadrith. Everything else doesn't belong to us. Which sucks, because if everything else did belong to us, we'd be belting out a Harem Anime ^_^ Anywho, read & review!_

_Oh! Important tidbit! These ######### signify flashback breaks. ^_^_   
  


Reminiscing the Harem - How they ended up with the Snake   
  


Brunch. It's that meal between breakfast and lunch that lets people eat whatever they want and get away with it. Hence the fact that Kang was eating tacos while Tvashtar was eating chocolate chip pancakes. _Not that I should talk, I'm eating leftover Chinese food...._

"M'lady?" 

She blinked and looked at her Guardian, frowning slightly. 

He smiled sheepishly, ears twitching. "I mean Lashana. What's the matter? You look....far away." 

"Just thinking, s'all." 

"There's a first." 

"Shut up, Kang. Don't make me reach over and thwack you with a taco," she smirked as she skewered an egg roll on a chopstick and took a bite out of it. _Ugh, cold egg roll....._ Grimacing in disgust, she threw the half eaten eggroll onto the plate and hopped off the stool, sighing as she shoved the entire plate into the microwave. "Cold Chinese food is _not_ a good thing." 

"Do I detect the scent of tacos?" 

_Bottomless pit...._ "Morning Malcho." 

The quetzacoatl smiled as he slithered into the Kitchen and looked over at the Elf, raising a wing to wave at her cheerfully, the feathers effortlessly falling into place to mimic a human hand. "Hola, mi amiga! You're up early, is your amor snoring again?" 

She chuckled. "No. Tvashtar came and woke me. We logged a few hours in the Danger Room." 

"Where she proceeded to remind me why it's a good idea for me to let her sleep in," Tvashtar winced, reaching back to rub at a sore spot on his back where she had whacked him with the pommel of her sword. 

"Ah. I would have thought you had learned that long ago, amigo. A sleep deprived Elf is not a good thing to behold on any day," Malcho chuckled, expertly avoiding the glare said Elf was sending his way as he coiled himself into the room, making sure not to block any doorways. 

"Don't make me get out the frying pan, _amigo,_" Lashana growled, though there wasn't any real anger in her voice. This was somewhat of a tradition now, this playful exchange of retorts. He was the only male who could match her in a verbal argument, granted he was nowhere near Telca's level, but still, it held some form of perverse enjoyment. 

"Oh? You get that frying pan and I'll go find that spider I saw in the attic." 

She grumbled and relented, letting him win this match. "Hai." The microwave beeped, and she quickly grabbed her plate, going back to her seat at the island counter. 

"I'll be damned, she lost," Kang gaped, ducking the thrown chopstick that she sent his way. 

Tvashtar looked from the Elf to the huge snake, recognising the deep friendship between the two as Malcho shifted so he was settled a little to the right of the Avatar, his outermost coil mere centimetres away from Lashana's back. "Can I ask you something?" 

"Shoot," Lashana muttered in between bites of steaming egg roll. 

"How'd you two meet? I mean, I know how most of the others got here, Mewtwo told me how you tricked him, but other than that, it seems like you've known some of the guys around here much longer than just a year." 

"Eh?" Malcho blinked and looked at Lashana as she casually took a drink of her 7up. "You never told them?" 

She shrugged and glanced at him. "They never asked." 

"Like that's ever stopped you before. Ack! Watch where you're aiming!" The draconian grumbled lowly and wiped steaming rice off his lap, very aware of the Elf's very audible snickering. "Bitch." 

"Flattery will get you flattened, Kang." 

Tvashtar rolled his eyes and elbowed Kang in the ribs, stopping him from opening his big mouth and getting himself into more trouble. "Eat your tacos," he muttered before looking over at the duo in front of him. "So?" 

"Did you want the abridged or unabridged version?" Lashana asked as she pushed her plate away and grabbed her soda again, leaning back against Malcho's side. 

The two males exchanged looks, shrugged, and turned their gazes back onto the Elf. "Unabridged." 

"Yare yare, does the unabridged version have all the nasty trimmings, Lashana-chan?" 

_Gah!_ "Go away, Xellos," she growled, glaring at the Mazoku that was hovering upside-down above her, his face centimetres away from her own. "And don't call me 'chan'." 

"Aw, why ever not?" He opened his eyes fully, meeting her dark blue gaze as he pouted. "You're so mean to me, Lashana-sama!" 

Tvashtar saw the signs first. The shimmer of the air around her, the narrowing of her eyes, the slight baring of her fangs.... it all pointed to one thing : it was time to take cover. "Down!" he yelled, dragging Kang along with him as he threw himself to the floor. 

"My tacos!" Kang wailed, reaching up to grab his plate before ducking down again. 

"You.... you.... you _godsbedamned namagomi!!!!!_" The Elf leapt onto the counter top and rose her hands, an aura materializing around her as Xellos chuckled and casually flew backwards. 

"Mmm. Your anger is _so_ tasty Lashana-sama!" 

She snarled, flecks of gold appearing in her eyes as she pulled her sword out of a portal and tensed, seconds away from attacking. The sound of a loud whipcrack jolted her out of her bloodlust, and she blinked at the sight of Xellos, who was now deeply embedded into the wall. A low angry hiss drew her attention to Malcho, who had uncoiled and risen to his full height, his head brushing the ceiling as he levelled a violent glare at the Mazoku and tensed, ready to deliver another blow with his tail. 

"You are seriously beginning to try my patience, gringo," he hissed, his voice deepening even further with anger. "Leave mi amiga alone." 

Xellos pried himself out of the wall and spat out a piece of plaster. "Oh? Who's going to make me? You?" 

"Malcho, look away, this is going to be bad." Lashana took a deep breath to steel herself, then gave Xel a sugar sweet smile and beamed chipperly, clasping her hands in front of herself as she let out a happy squeal. "Xelly! I just _love_ what you've done with your hair! Are those highlights? Oh, it makes you look just _so_ adorable!" 

"Ack!" 

"Did I mention that you're my bestest best best friend in the whole wid--" 

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" 

The moment he teleported from the room, Lashana chuckled evilly and casually rested her sword on her right shoulder. "About time. I was making myself sick." She glanced over at Malcho and smirked at his stunned look. "What? It worked didn't it? Granted if I ever have to force myself to be that cheerful again I think I'll rupture something." 

"I think I've lost my appetite." 

"Oh, hi Kang. Didn't see you down there." 

"Muchacha, promise me you will never do that again," Malcho shuddered, meeting her gaze when she turned to look at him in amusement. "Por favor?" 

She chuckled softly. "Yeah, okay," she grinned, taking a moment to toss her sword into her storage portal before stepping to the edge of the counter and looking down at the two cowering on the floor. "Big bad warriors, ha! Telca's cat is more intimidating." 

"Oh shut up," Tvashtar muttered as he got to his feet again and sat down again, looking up at her where she was still standing on the countertop. "And you owe us a story." 

"And get off the counter already, would you?" Kang said as he got up and shoved her off her perch, leaving her to fall backwards into a panicked Malcho's wings. 

"Gee, I can _so_ feel the love in this room," she growled sarcastically, tilting her head back to look up at Malcho. "Thanks. Um....either put me down or tighten your hold, but hurry up before I fall again." 

The quetzacoatl blinked, then rearranged his coils and set her onto his back. "The audience is restless." 

"That's nothing new." 

"True," he chuckled, turning from her to look at the two who were scowling at them. "You wish to know how mi amiga and I met, hmm? Then I suppose I shall have to tell you a bit about my past. You know of my immense hatred for the parrot, Iago, si?" 

"Oh yeah," Kang chuckled. 

"Didn't you tell me a little of that, M'lady?" Tvashtar frowned. "In that list of 'Things never to say around the Harem'?" 

She chuckled. "Yup," she smiled, patting Malcho's arched neck. "Hearing that name'll set this guy off faster than a firecracker." 

Malcho winced. "You don't have to put it _that_ way, amiga..." he muttered plaintively before returning his attention to the others. "My hatred of Iago is not unjustified, amigos. I do not wish to delve too far into the details, but at one point I had tried to take over reign of my homeland Rainforest via a magickal amulet that allows the wearer to control all weather around the world. The bearer of that amulet is another bird by the name of Thundra. She had foolishly fallen in love with Iago, and had entrusted him with the job of taking care of the planets weather while she went for an extended vacation." He smirked slightly at the memory. "It took little effort to steal the amulet from the flying rat, Iago. I had thought my new position as Ruler would never be taken from me.... But at the time I hadn't realised just how devious that flying rat could be. He tricked me into believing that he was my lackey, and in doing so, he and his friend the Genie trapped me in the Frozen North." 

Lashana felt a shudder of disgust travel down his spine at the memory, and lightly rested her hand against the spot between his wings, smiling slightly when he relaxed somewhat. 

"That would explain why you hate the parrot and the cold," Kang nodded. "But that's not all, is it?" 

"No, amigo. It is not. To say that it took me a while to free myself of my icey prison would be a farce. I truly do not know how much time had passed by the time I had managed to free my wings, enabling me to take to the air. Even then, I was forced to carry a large portion of my prison with me until I eventually reached Seven Deserts. Once the sun had melted the block of ice enough for me to completely break free, I set about hunting down the pest only to discover that he was seemingly friends with the Sultan of that city. I failed many times to exact my revenge, each time I was thwarted by the Sultan - who I would later learn was merely a 'stand in' for the real Sultan - and the Palace Guards. In the end, they sealed me into a volcano, which, while not as uncomfortable as the Frozen North, was not one of my favourite places to be." 

Lashana smiled slightly and leaned back against Malcho's arched neck. "And that's where I found him. Granted, it was an accident.... See, it was _way_ before Telca and I brought the Harem together. Actually, we were just fledgling sorceresses at the time....." 

################ 

"Whaddya mean, 'stand over there'? Are you gonna use me as a target again, Telca? Cuz I still haven't repainted from the last time you tried one of those spells," Lashana growled from where she was sprawled on her couch, looking at her best-friend warily as she approached her. The way these 'practice spell' sessions were going, her landlord was going to end up raising her rent by another fifty bucks. _It's bad enough that I'm paying almost seven hundred a month for a piddling one bedroom apartment, the last thing I need are holes and burnmarks on the walls...._

"It's not my fault! My finger slipped!" Telca protested. "Besides, we stopped it before the flames did any real damage." 

_Oh yeah. Sure. I didn't need that poster of Gundam Wing anyway. Or that plant. _"Yeah yeah yeah," the Elf muttered, tugging her tank top back into place as she got to her feet and headed for the small kitchen to get herself a Pepsi. "What spell are you studying anyway?" 

"Portals." 

She blinked and stuck her head out of the Kitchen. "You're shittin' me. Portals? Are you insane? You can't even make a fireball yet!" 

"Maybe it's just not the right spell for me. Besides, if I need anything fried, I'll just come and get you and you can fireball it for me." 

_Gah._ An inspection of her fridge showed that she was out of Pepsi _and_ root beer. _Ack! This is horrible! And what the hell is that? Ew.... I think it used to be cheese...._ "You want a drink? I have...lemonade and.... lemonade." 

"Ginger ale." 

"Lemonade it is." She snatched the jug out of the fridge and grabbed two glasses before returning to the couch, freezing in mid step when she saw Telca tracing a symbol in the air in front of her. "Oh hell no! Not in the apartment!" 

"Too late, I just finished the spell," Telca grinned, her good cheer fading moments later when nothing happened. "Hey! Where's my portal?! Stupid cheap spellbook! I knew I shouldn't have bought you at the Salvation Army! _Argh!_" 

_CRASH!_

_*sigh* I didn't need that plant either, I suppose. _"Telca, stop throwing things in my apartment. My pay cheque can't cover these tantrums of yours." 

"Shaddup," her friend snarled as she threw herself down onto the couch, folding her arms over her chest as she fumed."This bites. How can we do any spells if the books aren't worth gnat crap?!" 

Lashana shrugged, knowing that her friend was annoyed that she had mastered some spells she had learned from her favourite anime 'Slayers' with little ease, while Telca constantly struggled to find her own 'forte'. She crouched in front of the coffee table and set the glasses down before pouring the lemonade. "Maybe you can learn spells like I did. What's your favourite series with spells in them?" 

The burgundy haired woman sighed. "Harry Potter." 

"Okay." The Elf stood and walked over to her bookshelves, skimming the titles for a moment. "Aha!" 

"Ew! Not that one! That's the evil bastardized American version!" 

_Riiight. I forgot that the first volume I have is the crap one...._ She set the first back and grabbed the one of the others. "Okay, here. Look through and find something useful." 

Telca sighed and reluctantly took the book, leafing through some of the pages before getting to her feet and pointing a finger at Lashana. "_Crucio._" 

By the time the Elf had stopped screaming in agony long enough to throw a VHS tape at her, Telca was nearly giddy with elation, clutching the book to her chest as she hopped up and down excitedly. "It worked! It really worked!" 

"I'm so going to hurt you when I get off this floor," Lashana rasped, closing her eyes when an aftershock of pain swept through her. _I'd fireball her, but I don't think I can lift my arm...._ A bright flash of light made her open her eyes again moments later, and she blinked at the silver doorway in front of her. "You didn't..." 

"I did! It worked! The portal worked!" Telca beamed, ignoring the muttered curses from the Elf as her friend slowly dragged herself to her feet. "Where should we go? New Orleans! Oh wait, we don't have enough money.... Hmm.... Oh! A bank vault! Hey, is that my Aladdin Movie?" 

"No. I stole it from my parents," Lashana muttered sourly, eyeing the portal warily when it pulsed. "Uh... Telca?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Is it supposed to be swirling like that?" 

"Uh....yes?" 

Lashana sighed. "We're going to die." 

"We are not going to--ack!" The last was due to the sudden beam of solid light that erupted from the portal and shot towards her. Pure instinct made her dance to the side, but she didn't realize that Lashana hadn't seen the danger until it was too late. Hence the fact that the glowing lasso had closed around the Elf's arm and pulled the shrieking woman into the portal before said mystical doorway flashed once, then closed itself. 

Telca blinked. Blinked again. Then sighed. "I am so going to get yelled at for this."   
  
  
  
  
  



	2. What's with the giant purple snake?

_Hey all. Lashana here. Once again, we own only ourselves, Tvashtar and Kadrith. Everything else doesn't belong to us. Which sucks, because if everything else did belong to us, we'd be belting out a Harem Anime ^_^ Anywho, read & review!_

_Oh! Important tidbit! These ######### signify flashback breaks. ^_^_   
  
  
  


Most people thought quetzacoatls to be creatures of legend. Indeed, no one had even seen one except in drawings. Granted they had never thought to look in a half dormant volcano, now did they? For indeed, a creature of many legends lay trapped there, half his serpentine length still held fast by the hardened lava that he had fallen into when he had been tricked into coming here by a Sultan wannabe by the name of Aladdin. 

As it was, he was so intent on trying to break free, that he never thought twice about the speck of light that appeared high above the volcano's crater edge. 

That single small speck of light pulsed slightly, like a distant star, seemingly checking out the locale before it widened and practically spat out a screaming female form. Unfortunately, the portal had opened a good fifty feet above a steep side of the crater, leaving said form to crash onto the rocks and dirt and tumble down the incline until she hit, s'cuse the pun, rock bottom. 

The quetzacoatl stared in stunned bafflement at the white-haired female that was lying a little ways away from him. His pale green gaze darted upwards in time to see the glowing doorway close upon itself in a brilliant flash of light, blinding him for a moment before he returned his attention to the woman before him. 

There was no movement from the woman for a long moment. She merely lay there on her back, spread eagled amongst the rubble and dirt that had accompanied her ungraceful and obviously very painful trip down the crater's side. He stretched his neck out a little and flicked his tongue out, tasting the air like the serpent he was, trying to tell if she was still alive or not.... 

".....that fuckin' _hurt_....." 

He hissed and jerked his head back, watching her in wary shock as she gingerly sat up and rose a hand to her head, a grimace of pain marring her features. He had thought that humans were fragile creatures, and yet this woman had just survived a fall that would have knocked even _him_ unconscious. 

Lashana groaned softly and slowly got to her knees, brushing dirt off her clothes and shaking out her hair before checking to make sure nothing was broken. _Okay, ribs hurt, back hurts, shoulders hurt.... what doesn't hurt? Nothing. Yay...._ She blinked and took a quick look around, her gaze falling on the huge snake that was regarding her with what seemed to be curiosity. _I must've hit my head harder than I thought...._ A quick series of blinks and the feeling of serious pain flowing through her informed her that she wasn't asleep or unconscious, which meant that she really was staring at a huge purple snake. But this thing looked downright _weird._ Who the hell had ever heard of a gigantic snake with _hair?!_

She stared a moment longer, then slowly forced herself to her feet, slowly realizing that the creature in front of her seemed to be trapped in the hardened lava. "What the hell happened to you? Wait.... I'm talking to a huge snake. Oh Gods I really must've hit my head harder than I thought...." 

"Hola." 

"Ack!" She took a writhing leap backwards and tripped on a rock, crashing to the ground with a wail of pain. Throughout the entire fall, her wide-eyed gaze never left the creature before her. "Ye Gods! What.... Who the hell are you?!" _I am so going to need counselling after this...._ "And gods dammit don't scare me like that!" 

"Forgive me señorita, I didn't mean to startle you." 

_The snake talks. With a Spanish accent too. Okaaaay, I am SO going to need a drink when I get home...._

"As for my name..." He pulled himself up as best he could in his current predicament, trying to look regal. "I am Malcho the Great. Ruler of the Rainforest and," he paused and grumbled, "Current inhabitant of this accursed volcano." 

_Owner of the Godzilla sized Ego too I see. _Lashana shifted slightly and gingerly got to her feet, wincing at the tightness in her ribs as she did so. "I'm Lashana. Where.... Um.... Where am I?" 

Malcho blinked and slowly lowered himself until he was at eye level with her. "This volcano is situated on the outskirts of Agrabah's territory. The Seven Deserts are only a moments flight away," he told her, watching as a shadow of horror entered her eyes before she literally collapsed to the ground. 

"Sweet Mother of the Gods...." _I'm not only far from home, I'm in a totally different **dimension! **And since I don't know what spell Telca used.... I'm **trapped** here!!_ She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed heavily, raising a hand to massage her aching temple. "This is a turning out to be a really bad day...." 

He frowned a little as he studied her, wondering what had upset her. He was fairly certain that she wasn't from around these parts, not only had he never seen a human like her before, but her clothing was... bizarre... and that glowing doorway had definitely been the product of magicks. "Señorita? You are a sorceress, si?" 

"In training," Lashana muttered as she got to her feet again and looked around, spotting a more stable part of the crater that would make it a lot easier for her to climb out. "I've only been practicing for a few months." _And at least I damn well know better than to do a spell I can't even **control!**_ "If you want someone to get you out, try getting Aladdin's help. He's supposed to be the big grand hero and all." 

The low threatening hiss that escaped him rivalled the sound of a thousand angry snakes. "That gringo is the one who put me in here in the first place!" 

She blinked and looked at him, unable to keep a smirk from spreading over her lips. "Oh? Attacked the city did you?" 

"Only to get at that flying rat!" 

"Flying.... Oh. You must mean Iago." She quirked an eyebrow at the dark murderous look that crossed his face at the mention of that name. "I'll take that as a 'yes'. Fine, fine. I never liked that stupid chicken anyway." Ignoring the ache in her...well her entire body, she rose a hand and pointed at the hardened rock trapping Malcho. "_BEPHIS BRING!!_" 

It was obvious that the spell worked. The sudden cloud of dust and debris that filled the air was proof of it, and she grinned to herself as she used the cover to scramble up the side of the crater via the easier path she had seen moments ago. _There's my good deed for the day. Maybe it'll cancel out the bad karma I'll get when I finally get my hands on Telca._

By the time she reached the top edge of the volcano, she would have killed for a bottle of Tylenol. Never had she experienced the pain she was in now, every breath sent shocks of agony through her ribs, and she wanted nothing more than to find a safe spot and merely collapse for a few hours. A quick glance back down the way she had come showed her that Malcho had indeed gotten free, and had apparently simply left. _That's gratitude for ya. Yeesh._

Sighing in annoyance, she turned her gaze to the landscape before her and frowned. Apparently this volcano was merely one amongst an entire mountain range, she could just barely see the lighter hue of the distant desert sands ahead. "Aw crap. Of all the dimensions I had to land in, why _this_ one?! Stupid portal...." 

"Portal? Is that what that glowing doorway was, señorita?" 

"Ack!" She spun around and damn near fell back down into the crater, yelping in surprise when a huge purple feathered wing effortlessly swept her off her feet and relocated her onto safer ground. Her eyes widened in shock at the sight that greeted her once the wing had removed itself from her. "Y-you're a quetzacoatl!" _Holy shit he's **huge!**_ Now that she could get a good look at him, a part of her wondered if she should have freed him. Fifty feet of pure muscle in length with a wingspan of at least half of that, he towered over her, his pale green eyes fixed on her as two rather out of place antenna twitched against the mane of dark purple hair on his head. She nearly screamed when a bushy feathered tail lightly nudged her right leg. 

"Breathe señorita," he chuckled, his voice surpassing a baritone rumble, clearly amused by her reaction. "I'm surprised that you know what I am. As far as I know, I'm the only one of my kind, granted I am a fine specimen of evolutionary perfection, si?" 

Swallowing thickly, she warily took a step back, putting a bit of space between them. _I think his ego is bigger than the CN Tower._ "Uh, yeah." 

Malcho smiled - well, as much as a snake can smile - and lowered himself a little, trying to seem non-threatening. "You needn't be afraid, señorita. You freed me, I am in your debt." 

"You owe me nothing. I didn't free you just so I could get something in return," she murmured, slowly forcing herself to calm down. The look of surprise on his face plainly told her that not many people around here did things for others without demanding repayment of some sort, and she sighed softly in exasperation. "Quit looking at me like that, okay? You're not 'in my debt'. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I would have freed you no matter what." 

_This chica is definitely not from around here. At this moment I'm not even sure if she can be categorized as Human._ "You've branded yourself an outsider with those words, you know." 

"I'm supposed to care?" 

"Most Humans would," he replied, subtly working in a question of his own. 

Lashana chuckled and turned to look down the side of the volcano, a single fang showing as she glanced back at him and smirked. "Who ever said I was Human?" 

_Aha! I was right. Wait, what is she... CARUMBA!!_ He lunged forward to try to catch her as she hopped off the edge of the crater, hissing when she literally slipped through his wings. Fearing the worst, he slithered over to the edge and looked down, eyes widening in pure shock when he saw that not only was she alive and well, but she was enjoying herself as she slid down the side of the volcano. 

_I should take up surfing. This balance thing is easy.Oh look, I think I broke Malcho's brain._ Glad that she hadn't had the time to remove her hiking boots back home, she dug her heels in a bit more and slowed enough to let her leap over a boulder, landing in a crouch on flat ground afterwards. _Well, it'll still take me a day to get out of this wasteland, but at least I'm off the semi-active volcano and away from the egotistical snake._

"Señorita! Are you completely loco?!" 

_*sigh* One outta two ain't bad._ "If I say yes, will you stop yelling?" she asked as she watched him land next to her. "I have headache and you're really not helping it go away. And close your mouth, you're catchin' flies." _Yup. Definitely broke his brain._

He closed his mouth with a slight snap of connecting teeth, falling silent for a moment before growling. "You are either very brave or very stupid to speak to me in that manner, chica," he hissed, pulling himself up to his full height as he looked at her. 

"Alright, that's _it!_" she snarled, rounding on him and baring her fangs, her voice rising until she was almost screaming. "Now listen here, you. I am tired, I have no clue where I am, or how I can get home, I hurt in places I didn't even know I had, and you are _really_ starting to annoy me. No! Shut. Up. That 'high and mighty' crap is not gonna work with me! I am not going to bow down to you just because your ego is the size of the godsbedamned moon! I don't care about your opinion of me, or about Agrabah, or your little personal vendetta against some stupid peabrained bird! I just want to go home! Okay?! Is that getting through that thick skull of yours?!" 

As her voice reverberated around the mountains around them, she spun on her heel and stalked away, her hands fisted at her sides as her breath hissed out between clenched teeth. She didn't really know where she was headed, or even where she could go to find information on how to get home, but at the moment she knew that if she stayed still, she'd lose complete control over her temper, and if she did that, all bets were off on what she'd do. _I've half a mind to go shove him back into that volcano._

Malcho hissed lowly, his wing feathers shifting until they resembled fisted hands. _How **dare** she-- She just told you exactly what you don't want to admit_, a small voice in the back of his mind chuckled, taunting him. _She's right and you know it. Now what are you going to do about it?_ He grumbled and mentally smacked his conscience into silence as he looked after her, his keen predator's gaze easily picking out how she favoured her right side and the slight limp in her gait. 

Sighing, he slithered forward a bit and rose his voice so that she'd hear him. "Señorita." When she paused in midstep and glanced back at him, he moved forward a bit more and ducked his head slightly. "Is my ego really that big?" 

"If it was a physical thing it would have crushed the volcano and the surrounding mountains flat," she muttered as she looked away and continued walking, blinking in shock when he was suddenly in front of her, his body coiling around her in a wide perimeter, the shock of his appearance alone causing her to stumble backwards and crash to the ground. Slightly annoyed, she rose her gaze to his, softening her glare when he sighed and held out his right wing, the feathers forming together to copy a huge human hand. 

"Truce?" 

Figuring that things couldn't get any worse than they already were, she nodded and reached up to shake hands.... whatever.... with him, gasping when he effortlessly pulled her to her feet and released her hand before using both wings to brush dirt and dust off of her. "Uh....thanks." 

"Do not mention it," he sighed, looking at her. "Despite how much I lothe to admit it, you were right about what you said before. And while I certainly haven't made the lasting impression that I wanted to or given you any reason to listen to me.... I would like to help you, señorita." 

"Lashana." 

He blinked. "Que?" 

"It's my name. Lashana." She smirked. "As opposed to 'señorita'? And why do you want to help me anyway?" 

"Why not? Besides, you need a guide, do you not? Who better?" 

_Dammit. He's right. _"You do realise that I'll yell at you again if your ego gets bigger than your head, right?" 

He chuckled softly, surprised at the genuine emotions this encounter was pulling out of him. "Si." 

"Good," she said, sighing as she reached up to rub at her aching temples again. "Gods my head hurts.... Okay, where the heck are we again?" 

"Almost half a day's flight from Agrabah," Malcho answered as he shifted his bulk so she could lean against his lower segment. "Two days South is my Homeland, the Rainforest. Er.... are you certain you're alright?" He lowered his head close to her and carefully fanned her with a wing, eyes widening when he saw her pointed ears. "What..." 

"I told you that I wasn't fully Human. And I'm fine." _Not._ "Before you ask, I'm an Elf. Well, half-elf anyway. The other part of me is human." She gratefully leaned back against the expanse of muscle behind her and met his confused gaze. "Never heard of Elves, hmm? They're beings of nature and magick. Most are shamans, specializing in spells that are connected to the four elements of Air, Water, Fire and Earth." 

He nodded slightly, filing that information for potential future use. "That explains your scent at least." At her curious look, he frowned and tried to put it into words she'd understand. "You have the scent of power and nature combined. ...how can I describe it? Ah, you know of storms correct? When the clouds turn black and rumble and the lightning strikes the earth? Si? Bueno. Your scent is akin to the scent of the air when one of those storms is building." 

"Really? Huh, neat." _Now I know I'm insane. I'm starting to like him._

"Lashana, was it? May I ask you something?" When she nodded, he put on his best diplomatic approach, not wanting to risk angering her again. "You say that you don't know where you are, yet you seem to have some knowledge of Agrabah and it's inhabitants. How is that possible?" 

_Damn. Damn. Damn! I didn't want to get into this. I don't know what damage I could do here...wait. What's wrong with me? When did I ever care about crap like that?!_ "It's a little complicated. Er? You mind?" Not waiting for an answer, she carefully hopped up to sit on his back, glad for the chance to sit down. "That portal you saw before, that was apparently a doorway between worlds. My best friend was experimenting with a spell and lost control of it. I got pulled in and thrown here. Here's the tricky part. In my world, there's shows.... stories.... about Agrabah and Aladdin and all his annoying sidekicks. I thought they were all fiction, something thought up for children, but when I heard you mention that we were close to the city, I realised that I had been thrown into your world. Does that make sense?" 

"Frighteningly so," he murmured, raising a wing to cup his chin. "These stories.... Do you know how precise they are?" 

She shook her head. "Not yet. I'd have to see the city first. And no, I don't know if you were in them. I couldn't stand them, they were too repetitive for my tastes." 

Malcho chuckled. "Perhaps if I had been, they would have held your interest? And what do you mean by repetitive?" 

Ignoring the suave comment, she answered the second question. "Oh, it was all the same. Villain attacks Agrabah, Aladdin and his lackeys fight the villain, the Genie tries to be funny, the bird shows how he should have been killed at birth, Aladdin defeats the villain, everyone's happy and then it starts all over again in the next story." 

He stared at her, amazed at how accurate that was. It was exactly like his encounters with the human and his 'sidekicks' as she had put it. "You've piqued my curiosity, chica. Come. I shall bring you to the city." 

"Isn't that a tad risky?" 

"It will be well past nightfall when we reach it, so the chances of the Palace guards spotting us are slim. Besides, stealth is a serpents greatest skill," he grinned, daring to wink at her. "Here now, get off of there and come sit just before my wings." 

She nodded and did as he instructed, resisting the urge to dig her nails into his back in shock when he slithered forward experimentally, letting her get used to his movements. "If I fall off I do plan to come back and haunt you." 

An amused chuckle left him as he twisted his head around on his serpentine neck and looked at her out of his left eye. "I assure you, you will not fall off. And even if you do, we'll be flying high enough that I'll have plenty of time to catch you." 

_That's strangely reassuring._ "Okay." 

"Bueno. Hold tight!" He turned away from her and slithered forward, managing to pick up enough speed before spreading his wings and giving a powerful crucial downbeat, chuckling at the yelp of surprise from his passenger as he rapidly ascended into the air. 

_THIS IS INSANE!!!_ Lashana leaned closer to Malcho as the wind threatened to rip her from his back, forgoing her previous idea to resist the urge to sink her nails into him. At the moment the Incredible Hulk wouldn't have been able to remove her from the quetzacoatl's back. 

"Relax, amiga! You're in no danger," Malcho called to her when he felt her grip on him tighten. "Calmarse, Lashana. You are safe." 

"That's easy for you to say! You're not hanging on for dear life and.... Oh my gods I shouldn't have looked down...." 

He chuckled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were afraid of heights." 

"It's not the heights, it's the fear of falling followed by the sudden stop!" 

~*~ 

The moon was high in the star filled sky when they finally reached the outskirts of the city, and after a tense moment where they had soared over a patrolling guard, Malcho finally managed to find a spot where he could land and assure himself that he wouldn't be seen. He made sure to do so carefully, for when he had glanced back to check on his passenger a few minutes ago, he had discovered that she had fallen asleep. _She must be exhausted. Poor thing. Wait.... when did I start caring?! Carumba, what is this chica doing to me?_

He folded his wings and silently slithered into an abandoned building, taking a moment to search for any fresh scents before he deemed it safe. Once he had coiled himself into the little shelter, he twisted his head around - thanking all the Gods that he was a serpent and thus able to do so - and lightly nudged Lashana in the ribs with his nose. "Señorita?" He pulled away at her whimper of pain and frowned before leaning closer again and testing her scent, this forked tongue flicking over her. _She reeks of pain._ "Lashana? Muchacha, wake up." 

"Wha?" She rubbed at her eyes and looked up, blinking when she saw how close he was. "Are we there yet?" 

"Si. At the moment we're in an abandoned building. I thought you'd need a few moments," he told her as she slid from his back and stepped away from him. "You didn't tell me you were so seriously hurt." 

"You didn't ask. Besides, it's nothing I can't handle...or ignore. When did you start caring?" 

He knew it was a rhetorical question, but he answered it all the same. "I have no idea. The moment you proved that you weren't like all the other humans I had dealt with perhaps." 

Lashana paused in mid-stretch and looked at him. "Yeah?" 

"Si." 

"I should lose my temper more often then," she chuckled as she walked over to the doorway and peeked outside, paling when she saw a duo of guards nearing the building. "Shit! Guards!" 

Malcho reared at her panicked whisper, his gaze darting around their suddenly tiny hiding space. If the humans were to look inside when they passed by, they'd both be caught. "Amiga, run from here. Quickly, before they see you." 

"No way in hell," she growled as she took a step back from the door and rose her hands. "I may only be a sorceress in training, but I know enough magick to get out of a bad situation. _DARK MIST!_" Black wind seemingly rose from the ground itself, swirling around her for a moment before flowing out the door and spreading outwards, blanketing the streets in a dark gloomy fog. "Score one for the Elf. C'mon!" 

"Wha-- Amiga, wait!" He shot after her as she ran into the street, following her more by scent than sight since at the moment he could barely see a foot in front of his face. The sounds of the confused guards behind him nearly made him take to the air, but in a way he had promised to keep Lashana safe, and if he left now there was no telling how much trouble she could get into.... 

....and a hand landed on his side. 

Reacting on pure instinct, he hissed warningly and reared, knocking them away from him as he opened his mouth, fangs bared and ready to inject their venom into whomever had dared to-- "Amiga!" 

Lashana grimaced from where he had knocked her onto her back and seriously debated throwing a fireball at him. "Ow." 

"Are you alright? No wait, don't answer that. Just hold on," he whispered as he swept her into his wings and ducked into a deserted alleyway, dropping her amongst his coils as he turned and peered through the dense fog, constantly tasting the air. 

"We don't get paid enough for this." 

"You're telling me. I still haven't gotten a replacement pair of bolos from when we fought the giant worm!" 

"Snake you idiot. It was a snake. And shut up about the stupid bolos." 

"You'd be the same if it was your bolos." 

"Oh bugger the damn bolos already, will you?!" 

Malcho grumbled softly to himself while he listened to the guards as they walked right past them. _A worm? A WORM?! _He hissed a curse under his breath and turned to look at his companion, frowning when he saw that she was in the middle of smothering a chuckle. "What's so funny?" 

"How the hell did those idiots manage to beat _you?_" 

He growled. "Aladdin was with them." 

Lashana cut off another bout of snickers. "Oh. Sorry." She hopped off of him and took a moment to straighten her tank-top before looking at him and daring to reach out to rub her knuckles over his right eyeridge. "You'll get him back. Now, I'm gonna go look around a bit, I'll be right back, okay?" 

"Que??" He stared after her as she darted out of the alley and blinked, still stunned over the sudden friendly gesture. It shocked him even more when he came to the realization that not only had he not minded the contact, he had actually leaned into the brief caress. _This is loco. I should just leave now, she doesn't need my help.... _His wings spread a little as he reared a little higher, looking from the mouth of the alley to the star-filled sky above._ So why am I not leaving?_

~*~ 

_My Kingdom for an uzi..._ Lashana ducked down behind a rain barrel and waited until the human had past before peeking over the rim of it. She had found the famed Thieves Guild, and it didn't startle her in the least to see that it was exactly like what it had been in the cartoon. _Not that I'm gonna tell Malcho that. I have no idea how I'd explain the concept of television to him...._

Pushing that thought aside, she carefully crept backwards into the shadows, not ready to be seen just yet. She knew that the people here would automatically know her as an Outsider, and in this part of town, it was liable to get her killed. The last thing she wanted to do at the moment was get into a fight, because not only was she not in top shape for it, she had a sneaking suspicion that these people fought dirty. _Time to get back to Malcho._

"Well well well. What have we here?" 

_Aw crap._ She rose into a crouch and warily turned to look up at the man behind her, yelping when he reached down and grabbed her by her throat. _Ew. Doesn't he ever WASH?!_

The filthy thief chuckled lowly, a very disturbing gleam in his eyes. "And here I thought Agrabah was gonna be boring. Heh. C'mon pretty, you're gonna make this trip reaaaaal nice." 

_Letmegoletmegoletmego!_ Loosing a frantic yelp of fear, she reached up and grabbed his wrist with one hand and slammed her fist into the inside of his elbow with the other. The moment he went down howling and clutching at his arm, she delivered a solid kick to his forehead, then bolted before anyone else could see her. _Okay, I really hope Malcho didn't take off...._ "Malcho!" 

The quetzacoatl startled at the cry and hissed as he turned in time to see the Elf tear into the alleyway, a wild panicked look in her eyes. "Que? What's wrong? What happene--!" He cut himself off with a gasp as she literally threw herself at him, clinging to him tightly. _Okay....how do I get her off?_ Moments away from merely shoving her away, he looked down at her with the full intention of telling her to let go.... only the look of pure relief on her face made him hesitate. _Que? _"Muchacha? What happened?" 

"H-he was going to--" 

He cut her off with a low hiss, not needing to hear any more, the mere stench of terror from her was more than enough to tell him what had happened. Almost unconsciously, he found himself sliding his wings around her, returning the embrace as he shifted so that his body was coiled in a wide perimeter around her. _What the hell am I **doing?!**Okay, Malcho, let her go. You have to let her go. Why aren't you letting her go you stupid snake?!_ Rumbling softly, he lowered his head and lightly rested his cheek sideways against her back, giving her a few moments to get a hold of herself while still reminding her that she wasn't alone. 

It was almost five minutes later when Lashana pulled away, wiping at her eyes as he quickly released her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--" 

"You don't have to apologise. Tell me, the one who did this, is he following you?" 

She threw a wary glance over her right shoulder. "I don't think so. I kinda reacted on instinct and lashed out at him. I think I broke his arm." 

"Bueno. He got off easy then," he growled as he ushered her out of the alleyway, eager to get moving again so that he could ignore what had just happened. "Did you learn anything?" 

"Only that there's a sorcerer hiding out near the south end of the city. But apparently he's dabbling in major black magick..." 

"How did you learn this?" he asked curiously, wondering if perhaps she had cornered a thief and made him give her the information. 

"The ears aren't for decoration," Lashana chuckled, tucking a lock of her unruly white hair behind her pointed right ear. "My hearing's better than a humans, I merely eavesdropped on a few conversations." 

He nodded in approval. That's exactly what he would have done if he had gone in her stead. Especially around the Thieves Guild. "Alright, this sorcerer you spoke of, would he have the information you require?" _The sooner she leaves, the sooner I can return to normal. These emotions are downright confusing._

"I dunno. I suppose there's only one way to find out," she shrugged, hopping over his outermost coil and heading for the alley's mouth. When she didn't hear any movement behind her, she paused and turned to look at him, frowning at the turmoil in his eyes. "You don't have to come. Hell, you just got free of a volcano. Go back to that Rainforest of yours, enjoy life." 

"It's not that. Well, maybe it is. I don't know!" He hissed and ground his teeth together, glaring at the ground in front of him. 

Lashana sighed softly and leaned back against a the side of a building. "I'm not forcing you to come with me, Malcho. If you want to leave, then go. Then I'll be out of your hair and you can go home." Avoiding his gaze, she gingerly pushed away from the wall and headed for the street. "Thanks for the help though. I appreciate it more than you know. Ciao!" 

_That did not go at all the way I thought it would._ The quetzacoatl frowned and slithered forward, poking his head out of the alleyway and watching her as she headed down the dark street. How had she known how he was feeling? Truthfully he wouldn't have left her if she had needed him, but she had just quite literally freed him from any obligations he might have made to her, silent or otherwise. So why didn't that make him feel better? 

~*~ 

Lashana crept around the side of a dark building and froze, straining her hearing to hear above her frantic heartbeat as goosebumps rose on her skin. _Oooh. Major bad aura. If that's not the sorcerer then I'm not an Elf._ Making sure to move with the utmost silence, she slowly manoeuvred around the corner and over to the doorway of the building that the aura was situated in. 

"Nicely done. Nicely done indeed. You'll make a fortune on the black markets." 

"I know. And no one suspects anything. Hell, in this world no one even cares." 

"True. I'm pleased to see that you're taking this well." 

"Why wouldn't I? In my world, me an my boys would be in prison for the rest of our lives. Here, we can run as many black market deals as we want and never get caught!" 

Lashana's eyes narrowed as she listened, wondering what was going on. _And what was that bit about 'in this world'?_ Spying a discarded cloak nearby gave her an idea, a smirk spreading over her lips as she grabbed the worn material and pulled it on, rising the hood to hide her white hair. _There. Let the spying commence._ Taking care not to make any noise, she stepped over to a semi-boarded up window and peeked inside, blinking at the sight of two men sitting at a table, their faces barely illuminated by a single candle. She rose onto the balls of her feet and looked around the room, bile rising when she saw numerous bodies and parts of animals strewn around the walls and floor. _He's a poacher!_

"You'll find that I can be a very powerful....friend," the man that was furthest away from the flame chuckled, tossing a heavy pouch onto the table. "Your payment. If you find me a few exotic animals, and one creature of legend, I'll quadruple the payment." 

"Of legend? Like what?" 

There was a deep chuckle, the sound making a shiver run down Lashana's spine. "Were you in Agrabah a few weeks ago? When that quetzacoatl attacked the Palace? My spells tell me that his home is the Rainforest that's five days ride from here. Get me his head and a few...'specimen's from that jungle, and I'll reward you handsomely." 

"Yeah? Then you got yourself a deal!" 

The poacher leaned forward into the candlelight, and the Elf was horrified to see various guns and knives adorning him. _He's....He's from my world! Oh my gods, he's gonna--_ _I gotta warn Malcho!_ She jerked away from the window, her hip bumping against an empty rain barrel and sending it crashing to the ground, the old dried wood splintering loudly. _Aw crap._

Very aware of the sounds of alarm from within the building, she spun on her heel and raced down the street, heading for the desert. Her breath burned in her throat as she ran, her ribs protesting at every gasp she took as she tore through the streets, very aware of the pursuer behind her. _If I can make it to the desert, I'll have enough room to loose a few spells without having to worry about setting the entire city ablaze!_

There was a slight sound of pressurized air behind her as something slammed into her left shoulder, the stinging sensation making her reach back to yank whatever it was out of her flesh. Her heart nearly stopped when she looked down at the brightly feathered tranquilizer dart in the palm of her hand, her vision blurring as she suddenly faltered, the edge of the cloak snagging onto an uneven side of a building. 

"Well, not so spry now, are you?" the poacher sneered as he rounded a corner, looking at her condescendingly as she wriggled free of the material and staggered away. 

_No choice. I can't let this bastard get me... and I can't keep my eyes open much longer!_ She took a breath and focused her strength, pushing the drug induced drowsiness aside as she concentrated on the words. "_Source of all power. Crimson fire burning bright...._" 

"Here now, what are you muttering?" 

_This!_ She rose her gaze to his in a defiant glare and snarled, baring her fangs. "_Let thy power gather in my hands and become my strength! FIREBALL!!_" 

The resulting explosion sent her sprawling backwards as the attack ignited fires and completely shattered the building that the poacher had been standing in front of. Using every ounce of willpower she could muster, she scrambled to her feet and darted into another alleyway, dimly aware of the yells of outrage from behind her as she fled. _This is not good. Not good! Stupid Elf, why'd you tell Malcho to leave?!_ She skidded around another corner, her boots digging deep into the sand for purchase as she headed out into the desert. _I'll take my chances with the sun and dehydration before I take on that poacher and that sorcerer!Ug... I can't push myself much longer, whatever he shot me with, it's knocking me out..._

Her vision blurred again, and this time she didn't have the strength to keep herself upright, so she let herself fall, the cloak doing little to protect her from the sand as she tumbled down the side of a dune. Lying there didn't help her any, and she couldn't help but sob in frustration as she forced herself to her feet again, her entire body rebelling against her as she took one step, then collapsed into blissful unconsciousness.   
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Siestas, a friendship born, and a plan

_Hey all. Lashana here. Once again, we own only ourselves, Tvashtar and Kadrith. Everything else doesn't belong to us. Which sucks, because if everything else did belong to us, we'd be belting out a Harem Anime ^_^ Anywho, read & review!_

_Oh! Important tidbit! These ######### signify flashback breaks. ^_^_   
  
  


################# 

  
  


Kang stared at the two as Lashana let her voice trail off, his talons digging into the counter top. "And?!" 

"And what?" 

"_What happened?!_" 

Both she and Malcho blinked at the unified yells of their now rather large audience. Sometime near the middle of the story, the rest of the Guys had milled into the Kitchen and taken up seats around them, avidly listening to them. Kadrith and Tvashtar were at the island counter with Kang and Blackwargreymon, Wolverine, Remy, Zelgadis and Duncan were at the small table near the patio doors, Nightcrawler was hanging from the light fixture, Kenshin was doing dishes while listening in, and Beast was sitting on the top of the fridge while Mewtwo leaned against the side of the island counter, his intent gaze never leaving her. 

She smirked and rubbed at her throat. "I'm thirsty." 

"_Here!_" 

"Want me to weave a Healing spell on you?" 

~I can telepathically broadcast the story for you if you can't talk.~ 

Blinking, she looked from Zelgadis and Mewtwo to the the half dozen glasses of various drinks being held out to her, dimly aware that Malcho was chuckling in amusement. 

"A little caught up in the story I see," he smiled as the Elf grabbed a glass from Kang and sipped at the lemonade. "Shall I continue or can you handle a bit more, mi amiga?" 

"M'okay," she muttered around the rim of her glass, taking another drink before smiling at the group. "Okay. So.... where was I again?" 

There were numerous groans all around. 

"Hehe." 

################## 

Birds. Lots of them. Since when were there song birds in the desert? Better yet, since when did the desert smell like damp earth?! Pain accompanied her return to consciousness, and she stifled a whimper as her body loudly told her it's opinion of tranquilizers, craters and her treatment of it. "Oh Gods.... Someone stop the Universe, I wanna get off....." That said/groaned, she slowly rose her head from her arms and cracked open an eye, staring right at a large spiderweb. "Ack!" 

Panic produced adrenaline fuelling her strength, she yelped and scrambled backwards until her back came into contact with something all together huge and scaly, and she blinked slowly as she looked around and realized that she had bumped into Malcho himself. The quetzacoatl was loosely coiled behind her, wings folded against his back, his head resting on the ground as he slept. She frowned and looked up at the thick canopy above them, her gaze easily following the path of numerous songbirds that flew from branch to branch. _The Rainforest.... How long was I unconscious?!_

Her ribs chose that moment to remind her that they still weren't very happy with her, and she winced as she clamped a hand over her right side, fingers carefully probing at the spot that hurt the most. _Oh good. Bruised not broken. I can handle this._ Closing her eyes, she leaned back against Malcho's outermost coil and murmured the incantation to a Healing spell, sighing gratefully when the tightness in her chest vanished, the agony in her ribs dulling to a light annoyance. _It's worth the drain on my energy. At least this way I can move around._

A low snore pulled her attention over to her unlikely companion, and she smiled despite herself as she leaned her head back and studied him. True, that ego of his drove her nuts, but his aura was good, despite the few darker shadows in it that showed that he had seen and lived through a lot. She sighed softly and curled up close to him as she thought through what she had learned, unconsciously reaching out to gently work the tangles out of Malcho's hair as she did so. 

_Okay, so there's a badass poacher from my world carrying my world's weaponry running around doing favours for a very evil sorcerer that wants the poacher to hunt down some animals in the Rainforest... including Malcho. Add to that the fact that they know I know what they're up to, and that the poacher has 'his boys' with him..... *sigh* Methinks it's time I start running through the list of spells that I have, this could get bad...._

Malcho rumbled softly as the sensation of someone playing with his hair pulled him out of a deep sleep. It had been a while since he had had the opportunity to get some decent rest. That volcano hadn't exactly been the most comfortable place to be. The sound of a soft sigh tugged his mind into a rather unwanted wakefulness, and he drowsily opened his left eye to look at a wide awake Lashana as she continued to stroke his hair, her fingers easily working out the knots and tangles that he simply wasn't able to deal with. _She's alright! _She didn't seem to be aware that he was awake though, instead her gaze was fixed on her task, the telltale faraway look in her eyes proving that she was in fact lost in thought. 

Not wanting to startle her, he closed his eye again and shifted slightly, moving his head closer to her as he coiled his body around her in a wide perimeter, feeling a pang of disappointment when he felt her pull away. "Don't. Continue, por favor." 

"How long have you been awake?" Lashana whispered, looking at him as he opened his eyes to meet her gaze. 

"Only a few moments." He turned his head away. "There's a burr caught in there. It's been driving me loco. Could you--?" 

Surprised, she nodded dumbly and reached out to carefully start to untangle the burr from his hair. "You came back for me, didn't you? Thank you." 

He glanced at her. "I never actually left, amiga." At her look of surprise, he sighed and closed his eyes, saving himself from making eye contact while he spoke. "I am a solitary creature, amiga. I have lived my life quite happily without the need for company. But you.... you are different. You pull emotions out of me that I didn't even know I possessed. It is as though I am drawn to you, and quite frankly that need for companionship frightens me. In less than a week you have changed me, amiga, and I can't help wondering if your departure will free me.... or plague me with loneliness. And yet, even knowing that, I cannot leave you." Gathering what little composure he had left, he opened his eyes and turned to look at her. "I felt fear. _I,_ Malcho the Great, felt _fear_ when I found you in the lee of that dune. I brought you, an outsider, to my Rainforest home without a second thought. I haven't hunted in days, unwilling and unable to leave you. What is this that drives me to act like such a.... a...." 

"Friend?" 

He jerked, staring at her. That word, it was so simple. Such a simple reasoning behind this lunacy. "Mi amiga...." A hiss escaped him as he cut short what he had been about to say, his eyes widening when he realized that he had been calling her 'my friend' without even realising it. It was second nature to him now, to call her that, and he groaned in exasperation as he buried his face in his wings. "Oh, I must be completely insane." 

Lashana smirked. "Welcome to the club," she chuckled, meeting his gaze when he lowered a wing to look at her. "Hey, I'm the one who explicitly trusts a giant winged snake that's huge enough to eat me whole. You can't tell me that's a sane thing to do." 

Unbidden, a chuckle rose from within him at those words, the tension leaving him as he laughed. "At least I will have company on my voyage to complete lunacy then," he rumbled, grinning at her as she smiled. "Alright, since I cannot escape this madness any more than you can, let us at least venture onwards together, si?" He chuckled again and settled himself more comfortably, looking at her where she sat before him. "Now, tell me, what happened back in Agrabah. When I found you, there was a scent of darkness about you, and something.... something akin to the medicines that humans use, but sharper, twisted." 

She sighed and leaned back on her hands. "That was a drug. It's meant to put the target to sleep so that they can be captured alive.... I overheard a conversation at the sorcerers hideout... you're not gonna like this," she warned, taking a deep breath to steel herself before retelling everything that she had overheard and the subsequent chase through the city. 

He was silent for a long moment, his expression unreadable as he looked away from her. "...this gringo that is after me. He and his group are called what again?" 

"Poachers. They're from my world," she muttered, plainly disgusted that people like that existed in her world. "Poachers are people who kill animals for nothing more than trophies that they can sell in black markets. They're sick, twisted people. Some kill bears just for their paws....others...." She shook her head, refusing to go on. 

He obviously didn't think too highly of it either. "That's barbaric!" 

"That's why it's illegal. But somehow the bastards always manage to evade being caught by the cops, the authorities. And now there's a whole group of them here, where no one can stop them." 

"They will be stopped, amiga," he muttered, clenching a wing into a fist. 

"Malcho.... they're after you too, remember? They have weapons that can kill at a distance, weapons that are way more powerful than anything you've ever seen! It'd be suicide!" 

The panicked tone of her voice jarred him out of his rather murderous state of mind, and he blinked at her in surprise as he lowered his head a bit closer to her. "You.... My death would upset you, amiga?" 

"Of course it'd upset me!" she yelled. "What kind of a stupid question is that?!" 

"A valid one, when it's coming from someone who's never had another worry about him," he murmured, meeting her gaze for a moment before leaning closer and lightly nudging her in the ribs with his nose. "Alright, mi amiga. Do you have a better idea?" 

She leaned against the side of his head as he stayed close and sighed. "Obviously we have to get them out of your world. And since that sorcerer knows that I was eavesdropping and knows that I have magick of my own, he might take that as a challenge and accompany the poachers here. If it comes to that, I have one spell that might be powerful enough to take them all out, but I'd rather not weave it in the jungle." At his quizzical look, she smiled sheepishly. "It's supposed to be extremely destructive. On a good note, that sorcerer obviously has magicks that enables him to travel from world to world, but...." 

"But if he merely has it memorized you have no hope of getting that spell," he finished for her, catching on to her train of thought. "And the question remains, will we wait, or take the fight to them?" 

Shaking her head, she shifted to sit lotus style, rested her right elbow on her knee and sunk her cheek into the palm of her hand. "I may just be a newbie sorceress.... but I have a few tricks that could put me on level with that sorcerer. Granted it'll cost me, but I should be able to handle it, so we're pretty even on the magickal way of things. But those poachers...." She sighed and closed her eyes. "We can't match their weapons.... Hey, how long was I unconscious anyway?" 

"Three days. Whatever that gringo did to you, it put you into a very deep sleep," the quetzacoatl told her as he rose to his full height. "Here now, I think we could both use a meal. Thirty paces to your right is a large fruit tree. Peaches I believe they're called. Shall I meet you there after I do a little dining of my own?" 

She grinned and nodded. "Sure." _Oh Gods, food. I haven't eaten in days...._ She took a moment to watch him slither deeper into the underbrush before hopping to her feet and following his directions. _What's a pace to a snake anyway?_ Surprisingly enough it was exactly where he had said it was, and despite her still sore ribs, she happily jumped up to grasp a branch, swinging herself into the tree. 

Once safely seated on a sturdy branch, she reached out and twisted a few fruits off, checking them for bugs before happily sinking her fangs into one, humming in pleasure at the taste. _I so needed this._ She leaned back against the trunk of the tree as she ate, calmly looking up through it's branches at the thinner canopy above, the lack of dense trees allowing sunlight to stream down into the dense forest. _Even if I wasn't an Elf and drawn to places like this, I'd still manage to find my way to the forests. It's so peaceful here...._

She was halfway through her fifth peach when she heard the slightest sound of the bushes moving, and she quirked a pure white eyebrow as she leaned forward a little and looked down, smiling when Malcho slowly moved into view. Knowing that he didn't have a clue where she truly was, she leaned back again and watched him as he looked around, his forked tongue tasting the air for a moment before he turned and looked directly at her. 

"Amiga? However did you get up there?" 

"I climbed," she shrugged, grinning as she took another bite out of her peach. "I'm an Elf, the forests are my home too, y'know. Actually...." She straightened again and tossed the leftover peach over in the direction of a scavenging spider monkey, hearing it's happy cry as it latched onto the treat and bolted up into the safety of the trees. "Y'know, that's an advantage that those stupid humans _don't_ have! You an I, we know the forest. We can move through here with ridiculous ease, right?" 

He blinked, not knowing what she was getting at. "Si." 

The Elf gave him a fanged grin and chuckled wickedly. "How are you at setting up traps?" 

############### 

"Even then, you were evil," Zelgadis chuckled as he got up to get himself another cup of coffee, reflexively ducking the low power fireball that came his way. 

"I am not _evil._ I merely have inventive ways of getting back at people!" the Elf protested. 

"'Inventive' means 'evil', right? Cuz I remember what you and Telca did to me a few months ago," Duncan grimaced, reaching up to rub at his jaw. After all that time he _still_ couldn't regrow the hair on his face or legs. 

"You tried to have us put in an insane asylum, Duncan. You got what you deserved," Lashana said, folding her arms over her chest as she leaned back against Malcho. "Besides, we could have been _way_ crueller." 

"I don't want to know," Tvashtar muttered, glancing away from the now pale immortal as he looked at his Avatar. "Well? Are you going to continue or not?" 

"Gee, I'm not sure." She looked at Malcho and smirked. "Should we?" 

He chuckled and ducked his head close to her, his left wing balling into a fist with a single feather pointing at Blackwargreymon. "Considering that he is showing great self-restraint by not running over here and attempting to rip my wings off for touching you, I think we should." 

"He wouldn't dare. Would you, Black?" 

The Digimon met her stern gaze and winced. "Wouldn't dream of it, my Bonded." 

"Good." 

"The story?" Kadrith urged, looking from the sorceress to the quetzacoatl. "What happened?" 

Malcho chuckled and leaned back against a wall. "Well mi amigo, after we had devised a 'plan of attack', it was a simple matter to locate a clearing that they would automatically pick as a good spot to stop for the night...." 

############ 

"Oh my aching back...." Malcho groaned softly and stretched his wings out to their full extension, twisting this way and that in an attempt to ease the knot that had formed just below where his wings met his back. _I am not getting old. I am **not **getting old...._ The sensation of a hand landing on his scales startled him momentarily before he remembered that Lashana was well within hearing range of his complaining, granted the sensation of warmth spreading into his tired spine was certainly more than he was currently able to comprehend. "Que?" He glanced back at her and blinked, noticing that the hand that she was resting against his back was glowing a soft blue. "Mi amiga?" 

"Just hold still a moment longer. You'll feel better in a second or two," she murmured, not looking at him as she concentrated on the spell. 

Indeed, the moment she pulled away, the ache faded, seemingly wiped out by the warmth that had spread along his back and wings. He stretched a little bit, eyes widening at the lack of stiffness that had been there mere breaths before, and he blinked as he turned his gaze to the Elf. "What did you do?" 

"That? Oh it's just a basic little Healing spell. Nothing grand," she grinned, making a dismissive gesture in the air with her right hand as she headed for the large clearing they had picked out to set their little 'surprises' for the soon to arrive poachers. While she had set various little spell traps that would knock any unwary person into painful unconsciousness, Malcho had set about making well-hidden pitfalls. It had helped that the snake had displayed an amazing ability to burrow into the ground, granted the first time he had arched into the air and plowed into the ground nose first, she had thought she was going to die of a panick induced heart-attack. The burrows were shallow, so that she only had to launch one fireball to make the ground beneath the group collapse into itself, sending them falling thirty feet into the ground. _Granted we haven't actually thought about what we're supposed to do with them afterwards...._

"Be careful amiga! You placed a trap there earlier!" Malcho hissed, curling his plumed tail around her waist to yank her back towards him. "Don't lose yourself in your thoughts and stumble into an explosion." 

"Hmm? Oh, don't worry. I tailored the spells so only humans could activate the traps," she told him as she tried to uncurl his tail from her waist, giving up almost as soon as she started and simply leaning back in his hold. "The sorcerer said it'd take them four days to ride here, so that pretty much lands them at our doorstep sometime tomorrow, right?" 

"Si. In the morning, I shall go do a little ariel scouting. Don't look at me like that, I'll be flying too high for them to see me. The air will be thin and disgustingly cold, but it will be safe." He smiled at her sigh of relief and playfully tossed her onto his back as he headed deeper into the jungle, knowing that it was safe to leave their little surprise for the night since she had placed a shield around the clearing that would keep his fellow rainforest dwellers from unintentionally setting off the traps. "For now, a siesta is called for, si? Since we need to be in top shape for tomorrow? Um....amiga?" 

"Jus five m're minutes...." 

Blinking, he glanced back at her and discovered that she was sprawled along his back, her head pillowed on her right arm as she slept. "Ah, muchacha, what are you doing to me?" 

############## 

"Turning ya' into a wuss!" 

"Shaddup Wolverine!" Lashana growled, throwing her empty glass at him. "Interrupt again and it's no story!" 

There was a flurry of commotion from the other guys, and Lashana and Malcho merely sat there in stunned silence, watching as the guys all tackled Wolverine, the entire audience vanishing into a huge dust cloud. Numerous yelps were heard from within, along with a very unsettling sound of duct tape. When they all returned to their seats, Wolverine was securely fastened to his chair, a stale muffin shoved into his mouth as an improvised gag. 

"Please," Kadrith grinned as he set the roll of duct tape on the counter. "Continue." 

Lashana blinked.   
  
  
  
  



	4. We need a better plan or a crash mat

_Hey all. Lashana here. Once again, we own only ourselves, Tvashtar and Kadrith. Everything else doesn't belong to us. Which sucks, because if everything else did belong to us, we'd be belting out a Harem Anime ^_^_

_Oh! Important tidbit! These ######### signify flashback breaks. ^_^_

_Anywho, read & review! No reviews, no Chapter 5._   
  
  
  


Morning in the Rainforest was a peaceful time. It was that time where the only sound there was was the calming rustle of the trees as a slight breeze traveled through gaps in the thick canopy. The birds had yet to start their harmonious choir of songs, and fortunately for the spider monkeys, they were still asleep and also out of fireballing range. 

Curled up in a sundappled bed of ferns was a huge purple mass of scales and feathers. If one were to venture closer, they'd be able to see the white haired form that was comfortably nestled amongst the coils, the single wing that was draped over her nearly obscuring her from view. 

As the first hesitant chirps and warbles begun to fill the air, the purple mass shifted slightly, a large head raising from the ground, eyes only partially opening as it's forked tongue tested the air a few times before a low grumble added itself to the now energetic songs of the disgustingly awake birds high above. Said birds were damned lucky that they were out of reach. 

Figuring that he could steal a few more minutes of sleep, Malcho closed his eyes again and twisted to lie his head on one of his coils, a contented hiss escaping him when he felt the Elf move closer until her head was pillowed against his hair. He chuckled despite himself, thinking back to when he had met her only four days before, inwardly marvelling on how just one person could change him so much. 

"Mrn? Wha's so funny?" 

He hissed, startled by the drowsy mutter. "Amiga? Ach, go back to sleep." 

"Hm? Wha time's it?" 

"Too early. Sueno, mi amiga." 

"....'kay...." 

He felt her curl closer to him and sighed as he shifted his wing over her, enveloping her in his scaled feathers while carefully rearranging his coils to better cradle her. _If I didn't know better, I'd swear she was only a child... Granted I am about a hundred times her size... but even in human years, she can't be very old..._ Moving carefully, he gently pulled away and rose his head, looking down at her as she sighed and shifted to rest her head on her crossed arms. _I cannot believe that I am actually finding myself becoming protective of her! 'Friends'.... I can tell that means a lot to her, having friends.... but do I really want to.... to.... commit myself to that?_

He shook himself out of his thoughts as he felt her shift again, blinking when he saw that she was now staring up at him sleepily. "Amiga...." 

"What's the matter?" she yawned, stretching slightly before carefully sitting up, smiling in delighted surprise when he automatically rearranged his coils to keep her comfortable. 

"Nothing. Just thinking. Did I wake you?" 

"You were staring, so yes. It's damned hard for me to fall back asleep when I know that someone's staring at me. Hence the repeating of the question : what's the matter?" 

"I.... I was trying to sort out some things...." he muttered evasively as he lowered his head onto one of his coils, sighing when she automatically reached out to gently run her fingers through his hair. "Amiga?" 

"Hmm?" 

"Gracias. Thank you. I should have told you that sooner." 

"What? Why?" Lashana leaned forward a little to look at him. "For what?" 

"For putting up with this old serpent for one. And for...." he glanced at her. "I do not have any friends, muchacha." 

She smiled and rubbed her knuckles against his left eyeridge, chuckling when he hissed in pleasure and closed his eyes. "You damn well have one now. Well.... if you want that is." 

Malcho opened his eyes and looked at her, holding her gaze for a moment before smiling and bobbing his head slightly. "Si, mi amiga. I would like that." He felt his cheeks heat and swallowed thickly as he rose his head away and carefully uncoiled himself, making sure not to knock her off his back as he stretched, limbering himself up. "Before this conversation becomes too uncomfortable for me to handle, let us go see if we can spot those gringos, shall we?" 

"'We'? I thought you were gonna go alone," she frowned, tightening her hold on him when he slithered forward, heading for a break in the canopy. 

He shrugged, well, as much as a snake _can_ shrug. "I changed my mind. Besides, you said there is a sorcerer with them, si? I would rather not be shot from the sky like some overstuffed parrot.... and.... I would not leave you to face them alone were they to somehow evade me, mi amiga." 

Noticing the faint darkening of his cheeks, she grinned and merely reached out to run her hands over his wings. "Then let's fly." 

Chuckling at her enthusiasm, he sped up a little and spread his wings, pinfeathers brushing against nearby trees. "Hold on!" he warned, feeling her grip his scales as he threw himself upwards, bursting through the opening in the canopy and quickly gaining altitude. "I will be going rather high, amiga. If the air becomes too thin for you to breathe comfortably in, tell me, si?" 

"Okay," she nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see her. Inwardly, she was cataloguing all the spells she knew she could weave, and the knowledge that they were rather pitiful compared to what that sorcerer could do left her with a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. _Worse comes to worse I can simply boost my magicks with a spell. It'll cost me later on once the power surge fades, but at least it'll give us a fighting chance if things get hairy.... And I still have that backup spell. Major Black Magick though.... I don't know what'll happen if I weave it, all the spells I've perfected have been shamanistic...._ She jerked when she saw Malcho twist his head around to look at her worriedly, and abruptly realised he had been talking to her. "Sorry. Did you say something?" 

"Amiga, why is there doubt in your eyes?" 

She winced and looked below them, watching as the forest rapidly dwindled. "If that sorcerer attacks.... I don't know if I can stop him...." A growl escaped her as she slammed her fist onto her thigh hard enough that Malcho grunted at the impact. "Dammit! If I could only get back home I'd be able to get some supplies, my talismans, _something!_ I'm practically useless like this!" 

"You are _not_ useless," Malcho hissed, halting his forward flight as he twisted to look back at her. "That spell you wove, back in Agrabah. The one with the fire. Amiga, never have I seen a spell that is so powerful, and believe me, I have seen magicks at work before. Simply because you do not have spells capable of levelling an entire city does not mean you are not powerful in your own right. If anything, your adept control over the magicks that you _do_ know give you an advantage." 

_Adept control? He's lucky he didn't see me practicing that Bephis Bring spell three weeks ago...._ "Malcho.... I can't.... I can't promise that I can beat him." 

"All I ask is that you keep yourself alive," he murmured as he returned his attention to the clouds and resumed his forward flight. "I have no wish to bury you amiga." 

She closed her eyes for a moment, simply revelling in the sensation of the wind all around her before smiling. "I don't plan on dying anytime soon, Malcho. Besides, someone's gotta be around to keep your ego in check." 

He chuckled softly. "I can think of no other better suited to the job." Still chuckling, he swung his head downwards and peered at the ground far below, seeing the jungle thin into lush plains before it ended into the desert. "We are in luck. I do not see them." 

"Eh? I thought for sure they'd be here by morning." No longer afraid of falling off, she leaned over and stared down past his steadily beating right wing, squinting as she studied the sands. But it was when the small hairs on the back of her neck bristled and stood up that she knew exactly _why_ they couldn't see the intruders. "Oh _shit!_ Malcho! Get out of the air!!" 

"Que?!" 

"Land! _LAND!!_" 

Spurred onwards by the pure panic in her voice, he folded his wings and dove, eyes widening when a blast of lightning skimmed his bushy tail, scorching the downy feathers. _What in the---? CARUMBA!_ An undignified yelp left him as the calm skies seemingly turned against them, a vicious sandstorm enveloping them in the blink of an eye. "Amiga!" 

"I'm fine! Go!" 

Reassured, he nodded and made a beeline for the rather unwelcoming dunes below, grimacing at the sand that quickly saturated his wings and hair, the added irritancy distracting him for the one crucial moment that he should have been paying the most attention. For just as he managed to toss his hair out of his eyes, another blast of lightning streaked through the air directly in front of him, missing his nose by a mere feather width. The shock made him reel backwards, wings beating frantically as he stared right into the heart of a huge sand funnel. "¡Mi dios!" 

_We're gonna die!_ Lashana huddled closer to Malcho and clenched her eyes shut, silently praying that they'd live through this.... and as if in a mocking answer to her whispered words, a blast of wind hit her flush in the side, ripping her from the quetzacoatl's back. _Correction: I'm gonna die!_

"Amiga!!" 

She twisted in midair so that she would land feet first, barely able to hear Malcho's voice over the wild scream of the winds as she looked at the oncoming ground. _This is gonna hurt something fierce._

"Lashana!" 

Startled by the yell that was almost directly in her ear, she rose her gaze and stared at Malcho for a second, barely believing that he had caught up with her before she threw her arms around his neck and held on for dear life. Muscles rippled under purple scales as he grunted and tried to slow their descent, the wind doing nothing to help them as it hit full force against his back, making him lose what little control he had over their flight. She damn near had a heart attack in shock when the quetzacoatl hurriedly wrapped his wings over her mere seconds before they hit the ground. 

############# 

"That had to have hurt," Blackwargreymon muttered as he sipped from his orange juice. 

"You have _no_ idea amigo," Malcho grimaced, shifting slightly to rub at this back, as if the pain had returned to plague him at the mere memory of that crash. "Granted it wasn't all to enjoyable for mi amiga either." 

############# 

_Am I dead? No... I don't think I'm supposed to hurt this much if I'm dead.... What the.... THERE'S NO AIR!!_ The Elf burst to the surface of the sand seconds later, her breath coming in panicked gasps as she drank in deep lungfuls of fresh air, her gaze darting around the landscape and the once again calm sky before she scrambled to her feet. _Where's...._ "Malcho?!" 

A low groan drew her attention to a rather large half buried form in the sands, and she half slid, half dragged herself over to him, frantically digging the sand away from his head as he moaned in pain, panting heavily. 

"..._wing_...." 

The thick rasp sent her gaze over to the two great feathered vanes, and she paled at the sight of his right wing. It was crumpled next to him, hanging limply against the sands. A closer look showed her what she feared : the wing-joint was obviously dislocated. He was land bound. "I see it. Hold still, okay?" 

He nodded, gritting his teeth to keep from verbalizing the pain he felt as she stood and slowly walked over to his wing, the sensation of her fingers brushing over his pinfeathers making him shudder. "You.... you must, put it back in before the swelling stiffens the muscles." 

"What?! I can't--" 

"Muchacha _please!_ I do not want to lose the power of flight!" He looked at her pleadingly, seeing her eyes widen in surprise for a moment before she nodded and gently but firmly reached out to locate exactly where the wing was dislocated. "A little further down... _AH! _There!" 

Moving carefully, she probed the already stiffening joint and frowned. "Malcho.... I.... I can't.... I don't want to hurt you." 

Surprise overran the pain for a moment as he looked at her, genuinely startled. "Mi amiga." He stretched his neck out and lightly nuzzled her in the ribs. "Amiga I trust no one else. Por favor, mi amiga, ayúdeme. Help me." 

She shivered and closed her eyes, hating herself for what she had to do. Tightening her fingers around his wing, she took a moment to dug her heels into the sand, then took a breath and whispered. "Ready?" 

"Si." 

Not giving him a chance to reconsider, she flinched and threw her weight backwards, the sensation of the joint popping into place making her wince in sympathy as he let out a muffled cry and tensed, every muscle tightening into pure steel. Moving quickly, she ripped the hem of her shirt apart and tied the strips together until they were long enough for her to securely wrap his wing, preventing him from using it. It only took her a moment to weave a Healing spell on him, but she knew that while it would speed his natural healing, it would do nothing for the pain. _Dammit.... If only I were stronger...._

That finished, she turned and went to kneel by his head, rubbing her knuckles against his right eyeridge as she looked into his grimace of pain. "I'm so sorry...." She reached out and hugged him as best she could, closing her eyes when he moaned thinly and burrowed his head into her arms. "I'm sorry...." 

He shuddered as his wing sent another wave of agony through him and merely took comfort in the sensation of her arms cradling his head. It was only by taking in a few deep breaths of her scent that he realised that not only was she distressed, but that she was bleeding, the coppery tint making him raise his head from her reach to look down at her worriedly. "Lashana! You're wounded!" 

She blinked and looked herself over, frowning at the raw scrapes over her bare arms. _Must've happened when we hit the ground, the sand rubbed my skin raw._ "It's nothing. It doesn't even hurt... well okay, now that I've noticed it, it hurts, but it's not major. I'm more worried about you." 

"Understandable..." he murmured as he looked back at his wing, noticing for the first time how she had bandaged it to support the injured joint while keeping the strain off of it. "Gracias...." Sighing, he looked at her again and hesitantly lowered his head towards her again. "Por favor, mi amiga?" 

Knowing what he wanted, she nodded and shifted so that she was kneeling, her arms automatically curling around him when he sighed again and gently rested his head against her. "We can't stay here long. We have to get out of the sun." 

"I cannot--" 

"You damn well can!" she growled, startling him. "If you think for _one second_ that I am leaving you here then you're completely out of your arrogant egotistical mind!" 

He opened his eyes and stared up at her, stunned speechless at the emotion in her eyes. _Carumba.... I hadn't realised...._ "I didn't mean to upset you, muchacha. But you stand a better chance of reaching the rainforest than I." 

"I don't care. I don't abandon my friends." 

"...gracias." Shifting slightly, he rose his head a little higher and rested his chin on her right shoulder, closing his eyes again as he felt her curl her arms around his neck. _No matter what happens.... I believe that I shall treasure this moment always....._ He rested a moment longer, then sighed and pulled away, raising himself to his full height while being ever so careful not to attempt to extend his right wing. "Alright, amiga. Let's go." 

############# 

"Wait, wait, you two trekked...." 

"Through three miles of desert, yeah," Lashana chuckled, meeting Tvashtar's shocked gaze. "And I had to stay coherent throughout all of it to keep this one," she poked Malcho in the side with an overlong nail, "from passing out." 

"Serpents don't do well in extreme heat, amiga. It was not my fault," he muttered, folding his wings in front of him in a very human gesture. 

"You survived a _volcano._ You can't tell me a little sun is _that_ bad." She grinned at him for a moment, then turned to look at their audience when he refused to meet her gaze, blinking when she saw that Wolverine had almost managed to knaw through the duct tape. ".....anyway. You can imagine our relief when we finally reached what could be termed 'shade'. I was just glad I could collapse and not have to worry about digging sand out of my bra again...."   
  
  
  
  



	5. Tired In need of a break

_Hey all. Lashana here. Once again, we own only ourselves, Tvashtar and Kadrith. Everything else doesn't belong to us. Which sucks, because if everything else did belong to us, we'd be belting out a Harem Anime ^_^___

_Oh! Important tidbit! These ######### signify flashback breaks. ^_^___

_There's also a poll on for y'all to vote on which Harem Guy you'd like to see in the next fic. True, at the moment Blackwargreymon is in the lead (yay) but it worries me that Xellos is a close second. All this does is prove that you're all just as insane as Telca and I *hehe*_   
  
  


################## "I never want to move ever again......" 

Malcho groaned in agreement and lay flat on the lush grass, the cool ferns and slightly damp soil taking some of the oppressive heat from his scales. Ignoring the dull throbbing in his wing, he turned his head and looked over at the Elf that was lying spread eagled on her back a little ways from him, her eyes clenched shut as she gasped for breath. He let her be for the moment, taking the opportunity to merely lay there and reaffirm his love of the Rainforest. 

He had almost dozed off when he heard her move, the sound making him crack an eye open to look at her curiously as she hauled herself to her feet. "Que? Amiga?" 

"Stay put. I'm gonna go check the clearing. Hey! Didn't I just tell you _not_ to move?!" 

"If you think I am letting you go alone, you are completely loco, amiga!" he hissed as he rose from the ground and gave himself a little shake to wake himself up. "Besides, if the sorcerer _is_ there, you will need my help." 

"But you're--" She looked at him, took in his expression and sighed. "Going to be incredibly stubborn about this. Fine, fine. Just, be careful, okay?" 

He chuckled, amused at her worry for him. "Si, mi amiga. So long as you do the same." 

"I'll get back to you on that," Lashana smirked as she picked her way through a mess of ferns, heading for the clearing they had booby-trapped the day before. Despite the fact that Malcho was moving almost silently behind her, she could still make out his faint gasps of pain whenever a branch hit his wing, and she inwardly kicked herself for not studying those Healing spells that she had brushed aside as useless a few weeks ago. She would give anything for those spells now. 

"Amiga!" 

She turned at the call in time to have Malcho's left wing swat her to the ground, and she bit back the loud retort that came to mind when she saw him drop into the ferns a little ways to her right. It simply amazed her that a giant purple snake could vanish into a sea of green so easily. _Maybe he's part chameleon or something...._ Moving carefully, she rolled onto her stomach and crawled forward until she could peek through a few ferns, blinking at the sight of the Humans slowly making their way across the field. _Okay, there's only seven of them...._

_KABLAM!_

_Make that six. Hehe. Watch where you're stepping little man, there's runes laid out all over the place._ Trying very hard not to snicker, she shifted to get a good look at the sorcerer and felt a shiver of terror travel down her spine. _Holy Gods! His aura... It's BLACK!_ _Oh this is not good, not good at all...._ As he swept the edge of the clearing with his gaze, she shrank back into the safety of the ferns, not daring to even breathe as his gaze travelled towards where she was.... and then seemingly fixed right on her. _Oh shit!_

**_Hello, little one._**

Her lip curled as she glared back at him, fangs bared. _Telepathic... What do you want you bastard?_

**_You're an Elf, are you not? _**He smirked and rose a hand. **_I've heard that the blood of Elves has many magickal uses._**

_SHIT!_ Her heart pounding in her chest, she rolled to the side, barely avoiding the blood red fireball that singed her right shoulder on it's way past, exploding against a tree mere seconds later. She was up and running before the tree had even hit the ground, her breath burning in her lungs as she lured the sorcerer away from Malcho while retaliating with a few fireballs of her own. _Gotta take out the Humans. They'll shoot me the first chance they get!_

The sound of a loud bellow drew her attention to the far end of the clearing, where Malcho had coiled himself around a poacher and was literally constricting the life out of him while hissing and trying to get a clear chance to bite the second human that was trying to hack at him with a machete. _Aw crap._

Throwing a fireball at the sorcerer to distract him, Lashana ducked a barrage of tranquilizer darts that flew her way and swerved, her boots digging deep into the soft soil as she ran over to help Malcho. "_Source of all power... Wind which blows to the East..._" She rose her hands and mimed closing her hands on a bow and arrow. Actually, if anyone had bothered to look closely enough, they'd have seen the slight threads of fire magick swirling at her fingertips, forming a perfectly shaped bow. _"Flare arrow!_" 

The spell flew with perfect precision, sending the poacher that was trying to sink his blade into Malcho flying twenty feet through the air before he landed right on a hidden pitfall, adding another thirty feet to his plunge. 

Not bothering to look in the direction of the fallen human, she skidded to a halt in front of the quetzacoatl and rose her hands, taking quick inventory of the spells she could use for defence as the sorcerer turned to glare at them. "Malcho. Get ready to run." 

He hissed lowly and casually tossed the human he had been crushing aside, the limp form landing amongst the ferns somewhere to his right. "No amiga. I will not leave you here." 

"Then at least stay behind me. Things are about to get very _very_ ugly." She never removed her gaze from the sorcerer as she spoke, knowing that the second she let herself be distracted, he'd strike. _As if I have that much patience._

**_You'd hurry to your own death?_**

Baring her fangs at the voice in her thoughts, she narrowed her eyes slightly and gathered together all the emotions that she kept locked away. Pain, sadness, anger, rage, depression... she balled all of those up and shoved them at the presence hovering at the edge of her mind, smirking when the sorcerer's eyes widened a little as he took a shaky step backwards. _Now!_

Ignoring Malcho's protests, she leapt forward and landed on one knee on the ground, grimacing as she slammed her right hand flat against the grass. "_Earth below me! Submit to my will! DUG HAUT!_" She hadn't had time to perfect her control over this spell, but the numerous rock spires that burst from the ground between her and the sorcerer was more than enough of a distraction. "Malcho! C'mon!" 

Startled by the show of magick from her, he shook himself and quickly followed her into the forest, easily catching up to her as she ran for safety. S_he has that kind of power and yet she fears that gringo...._ "Amiga! This way!" 

Stealing a quick glance behind them to make sure they weren't being followed, Lashana swerved around a tree and shoved a low hanging branch aside as she sprinted after Malcho. _How the hell can something so big move so fast?!_ "Wait!" 

The quetzacoatl spun at the cry and lashed his tail around her waist before tossing her onto his back. "Stay low," he rumbled, hiding a wince as he folded his wings tight against himself before slithering forward, navigating the numerous trees and dense undergrowth with ease. 

**_Too easy. Shadow Snap!_**

"Ack!" Lashana lurched forward and tumbled off of Malcho's back as he came to a full stop, his frantic gaze and the sight of black spines embedded into his shadow easily telling her what had just happened. _Luckily, this spell is easy to break!_ Scrambling to her feet, she lay her left hand on Malcho to reassure him and rose her right. "_Light which burns beyond crimson--_" 

**_Oh no, you don't. Mono Volt._**

Pain. The lightning spell slammed through her, making her scream in agony that, while no where near as bad as the Crucio spell Telca had done on her, was still enough to overload her system, rendering her unable to stand, much less weave another spell. 

**_Don't worry little Elf. You'll only be paralysed for a few minutes._** The sorcerer smirked as he and the remaining three poachers walked over to them, his thoughts lightly caressing those of his captives. **_Long enough for my... associates to properly restrain you and this precious beast._**

Malcho hissed lowly and tried to twist around to sink his fangs into the human, bellowing in pure rage and frustration when the spell that was holding him limited his movements. "What do you want with us, gringo?!" 

"Ah, so you do speak. I was wondering if those rumours were true." Smirking, the sorcerer lightly trailed a hand over the quetzacoatl's side, chuckling when he felt the expanse of scaled muscle shudder in revulsion. "You, dear creature, are going to help me broaden my magicks. True, you won't be alive to see the finished results, but she will be." He turned to look at the Elf and crouched to cup her chin in his left hand, raising her head to look at her face. "What? A halfblood?! Bah, her blood's not pure. Oh well, I'm certain I can find.... other... uses for you, my dear." 

Lashana weakly bared her fangs, glaring while she mentally screamed at him. _Go to hell you bastard! When I can move again I'm going to rip your heart out through your nose and nail it to your forehead!_

He chuckled and glanced at the huge snake when it growled and tried to protect the Elf. "Well, well. Is she yours, creature? Too bad." Smiling, he rose to his feet and looked at the three poachers behind him. "Tie them up while I weave the restraining spell for the beast. Treat them roughly if you must, but I want them alive." 

_C'mon.... c'mon you stupid spell... wear off already!!_ She felt her fingers move slightly as the three humans approached them and growled softly under her breath. _Fine. Let's go for the tried tested and true method. _It wasn't something she liked doing, but she knew that emotions were a powerful energy source. Unlocking what she had bottled up inside of herself for the last thirteen years of her life was easy, she dreaded having to try to get ahold of them later. But the rage and hurt she had kept hidden... she needed it now. 

Malcho strained at the invisible force that held him, trying to at least coil himself in a protective perimeter around Lashana before the humans could reach her. Then he could simply sink his fangs into that bastard sorcerer and pump enough venom into the humans veins that he'd die a quick yet extremely painful death. _If we do not do something soon, our chances of escaping will be crushed...._

Having tested the minimal amount of movement he was afforded when he had tried to lash out at the sorcerer, he could only smirk as one of the humans stupidly ventured too close. _If we cannot get free, I at least want some company in the afterli-- Carumba!_

"Get the hell away from him!" The scream of rage was accompanied by the fist that slammed into the closest poacher's stomach, making him double over in pain and incidentally enabling Lashana to smash her knee into his face before kicking him aside. 

**_Stop._**

She froze at the growl and bared her fangs as she turned to glare at the sorcerer, her anger wavering when she saw that he was holding a fire lance to Malcho's throat. "Bastard." 

**_Perhaps. But at least I'm a powerful one. Submit or watch him die._**

_Gods dammit all to Hell and back! _Her hands fisted at her sides, her nails cutting deep into her palms as she glared at him with undisguised loathing while the two poachers that were still standing advanced on her.... 

"There you are!" 

A yelp of shock left Lashana's throat as a glowing white doorway opened behind her, pulsing once before a single arm reached through to grab her by her hair and haul her in. "No! Telca, wait! They're gonna kill him! Wai--!!" 

"Well!" The sorcerer grinned and banished the spell, looking at the quetzacoatl joyously as the portal snapped shut. "That's one less problem to deal with! Boys! Get him tied up and drag him into the clearing! I need room to weave the Blood Rite!" 

"Gotcha boss!" 

Malcho didn't even acknowledge the ropes and chains that were suddenly being tied around him, didn't feel the cold bite of a dagger prodding him into slithering back towards the clearing. _At least there's someone to tell the story now.... Be well, mi amiga. I swear, my last thoughts will be of you._

############### 

The entire Kitchen was silent. Then... 

"_What happened?!_" 

"Ack!" Lashana covered her ears with her hands, her thoughts muddled by the loud unified screams from the audience. ".....ow..... Yeesh. A little patience wouldn't kill you people." 

"As if you're one to talk." 

"Shut. Up. Kang."   
  
  
  



	6. Deforestation! The first Dragon Slave!

_Hey all. Lashana here. Once again, we own only ourselves, Tvashtar and Kadrith. Everything else doesn't belong to us. Which sucks, because if everything else did belong to us, we'd be belting out a Harem Anime ^_^___

_Oh! Important tidbit! These ######### signify flashback breaks. ^_^___

_There's also a poll on for y'all to vote on which Harem Guy you'd like to see in the next fic. True, at the moment Blackwargreymon is in the lead (yay) but it worries me that Xellos is a close second. All this does is prove that you're all just as insane as Telca and I *hehe*_   


############## 

"Nuuuugh....." 

"Hey. Hey, wake up." Telca leaned over the Elf and lightly slapped her, grinning down into the dazed blue eyes that blinked up at her. "Welcome back!" 

"No!" Lashana leapt to her feet and grabbed Telca's shoulders, shaking her roughly. "You have to send me back! They're going to kill him!" 

"What? Kill who? Did you hit your head on something during re-entry or something?" The other sorceress swatted her away and backed up a few steps. "You can't go back, I barely managed to find you this time! You've been gone almost an entire week! I can't--" 

"I don't care! That bastard sorcerer is going to kill him! Open the damned portal, Telca!" 

"Sorcerer? You went and had fun without me, didn't you?" 

"_TELCA!_" 

"Alright, alright! Give me a few minutes to weave the spell again! Yeesh. Elves." 

Ignoring the last mutter from her friend, Lashana spun and bolted into her room, frantically getting changed into black jeans, black boots and a navy blue tank top before pinning her hair up and grabbing her magickal talismans from her jewellery box. _You want a fight you bastard? I'll give you one!_ "Telca! Hurry up!" 

Power flickered at her fingertips as she rose her head and screamed in the general direction of her friend's bedroom. "I'm hurrying already! Don't get your knickers in a wad!" 

The Elf growled under her breath as she placed the two blood red talisman bracelets onto her wrists, then pulled the pendant's chain over her head and attached the belt buckle to the clasp of her jeans. She frowned then and rose her hands, sighing when she realised that she was shaking. _Gotta calm down else whatever spell I weave is gonna go out of control._ Knowing that it'd take Telca another moment to open the portal, she took a wide-legged stance and grounded herself, breathing deeply in the way she had been taught, forcibly calming and centring her mind and body. 

"Got it!" 

Lashana let a smirk spread over her lips as she opened her eyes and rose her left hand, staring into the depths of the blood red talisman jewel. _Payback time._

~*~ 

Malcho hissed and twisted in his bonds to try to take a bite out of one of the humans, crying out in pain when all he got for his efforts was a hard punch to his wounded wing. Unable to move as the agony spread through his entire spine, he could only watch as the sorcerer walked around him, tracing lines and sigils into the bare dirt. _Oh, carumba, this is High Black Magick. Whatever he plans on doing... I don't think I'm going to overly enjoy it._

"I have to admit, I wish there was another way," the sorcerer told the quetzacoatl when he saw it watching him. "You're a magnificent creature, and intelligent to boot. Unfortunately, you're also the only being on this world that can grant me the power I so deserve. I hope there wasn't anything important you had planned." 

"Only to sink my fangs into you and flood you with venom, gringo," Malcho hissed. "Step closer and we shall see how well this spell of yours can hold me." 

The dark mage laughed. "Defiant to the end, hmm? I'm impressed. All the others that I killed were begging for mercy by now." 

"I do not _beg_." 

"So I see. So I see. Good for you. Now, since I'm not planning on giving you any last requests, let's just get this over with, alright?" The sorcerer rose his gaze to meet that of the snakes and grinned when a shudder went through the creature. "And please. Feel free to scream in agony all you want." 

"YAAAAAAHOOOOOOOO!!!!" 

"Huh?!" He spun and rose his gaze to the sky, his eyes widening when he saw a form free falling towards them. "It's the Elf! Shoot her!" 

Lashana grinned as she dropped, making a mental note to talk to Telca about how inconvenient it was to have the portals open fifty feet above the ground as she took quick stock of the situation below her. _Of course, I have to hope that I survive this.... _Spotting one of the three humans shooting at her from directly beneath her, she couldn't help but cackle in amusement at their stupidity. _Yay! A crash mat!_

Malcho winced and looked away as she landed _on_ one of the poachers, driving him deep into the ground before she rolled to the side and hopped to her feet. _That had to hurt._ Knowing that she was still outnumbered, he could do nothing but watch as she dodged the punch that one of the remaining poachers threw at her, pride welling up in him when she bared her fangs in a feral grin and knocked the human out with a quick punch/kick combination. _She came back!_

"_YOU!_" 

Lashana spun at the infuriated yell and threw herself aside in time to avoid the fireball that flew past her. "Awww, you didn't miss me? I'm deeply, deeply hurt. Really." Smirking, she dodged another fireball and retaliated, snapping her fingers to activate the spell. "_MEGA BRANDO!_" 

"Amiga!" The quetzacoatl strained in his invisible prison and just managed to brush his muzzle against her side as she ran over to him, her hands tracing the magicks that held him while the sorcerer screamed in fury and pain. "Lashana, I--" 

"No time. Hold still and let me see if I can break this." Narrowing her eyes slightly, she reached out with her Elven senses and 'looked' at the threads of magick that were tied around him. _Wow. This is pro stuff. Luckily I know how to cheat... Now where's the main thread.. Aha!_ She sliced her index fingernail across the air, using a bit of magick to 'cut' Malcho free, then turned and rose a hasty shield to deflect the dozens of fire bolts the sorcerer had launched at them. "Now go!" 

He froze in mid-stretch and looked at her. "Que?! If you think I--" 

"Malcho, this isn't a frakkin' debate! I'm going to have to go all out to beat this guy and I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire!" 

"Amiga--" 

"_LY BRIEM!_" She knew it was a dirty thing to do. His fear and hatred of the cold was something she had sworn to herself that she would never use to her advantage. But if it meant saving his life, then so be it. Even then, his bellow of shock and pain sent a shudder through her that had nothing to do with the ice water spell she had thrown at him, and while her gaze never left that of the sorcerer, she clearly heard the quetzacoatl back away from the spell's effects until he was well into the forest. _I'm sorry, Malcho. But I don't want to end up accidentally killing you._

"I see that I should have given you more credit. You're far more of a nuisance than I thought," the sorcerer growled as he gathered power to himself and crafted it into a lance, using it to shatter her shield and send her stumbling backwards. 

"What can I say?" she drawled as she crafted a lightning spell, smirking as red and black bolts of electricity converged on him. "I aim to please." 

With a sneer of contempt, he slashed his arm through the lightning surrounding him, effortlessly breaking the spell. "You think these parlour tricks will stop me, little half-blood? I have more power than even you can imagine." 

"Actually, I can imagine a lot." But she took a step back anyway, panic rising within her as the sorcerer spread his arms wide and rose his face to the sky. Black clouds gathered in seconds, swirling like a tornado above them as it feed dark power straight into the mage before her. _Oh crap. I really am going to have to go all out to beat him... even then... I don't know if it'll work...._

"Amiga! Run!" 

She spun at the yell and watched in horror as Malcho struck out at the sorcerer, her heart sinking when she saw the mage start to turn towards the oncoming quetzacoatl, a black spear of magick forming in his hands. _No!_ Instinct to protect her own threw her into action, making her sprint into the space between the sorcerer and the snake, her arms rising to cross themselves over her chest as she pushed her aura outwards, a scream of pain and defiance leaving her when the black magick spell slammed into her. 

"I'm impressed. You actually managed to save him. Not yourself though. I'd imagine that that hurt a lot, hmm? Especially since you were stupid enough to deflect the brunt of it with your aura." The sorcerer chuckled softly as the Elf dropped to one knee, her eyes closed in a grimace of pain. "Amateur. Did you really think you could stop me? And you, quetzacoatl. Why try to protect her? She's nothing compared to you." 

Malcho growled softly and coiled himself around the Elf, his cold glare never leaving the mage. "She is mi amiga. My friend." 

Lashana grit her teeth and slowly forced herself to her feet, seeing Malcho move so that he was blocking the sorcerer's view of her. "Malcho," she whispered, "keep him talking." Receiving a soft nudge on her thigh with a plumed tail as response, she closed her eyes and concentrated, pulling on every ounce of magick that her talismans possessed. _If this doesn't work, we're both dead..._ Words to the most powerful spell she knew of flowed into her thoughts like water as her hands started going through the gestures that accompanied the incantation. _Here we go._

"Your _friend?_ That half-blood? Oh, you can do so much better." 

Hissing softly in hatred, Malcho half-spread his wings, ignoring the pain as he blocked the sorcerer's view of Lashana, shivering at the sensation of a warm energy filled wind that washed over his back. _Que? What is she..._ His eyes widened moments later when she leapt over his outermost coil and slowly walked in front of him so that she was facing the sorcerer, an eerie aura of blood red magick swirling around her. _Carumba!_

"_Darkness beyond twilight. Crimson beyond blood that flows, buried in the flow of time..._" 

The mage chuckled cruelly. "What do you think you're doing? Haven't you learned yet?" He stared at her in amusement as she rose her hands, obviously gesturing in cadence with the spell's invocation. 

"..._In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness! Let all the fools that stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess!_" 

"What.... No!" Panic welled up within the sorcerer as the Elf's Black Magick spell started pulling on his own power to fuel itself, using the store of energy within the clouds above them to grow stronger. _This is impossible! She's just an amateur!_ He grabbed at threads of the magick and tugged them back to himself, trying to cut her off from the power that she was using to strengthen her spell, and when it didn't work, he turned to desperation and sent three dozen soul-shattering black magick spears at her. 

Malcho slithered backwards in shock as the pulses of energy that emanated from Lashana sent shudders of instinctual fear through him, trying to make him run. But his gaze never left the Elf, seemingly mesmerized by the power she had managed to call upon as her hair was suddenly tugged free from the clip, letting the wind lift it clear off her shoulders. _This must be the spell she told me of. The one she was afraid to use!_

_Moment of truth. Here's hoping that this spell doesn't decide to kill me. _Pushing aside the drugged sensation of power she was feeling, Lashana cupped the sphere of red magick that had formed and lowered her hands so that she was pointing directly at the sorcerer, worry seizing her when she saw his own attack coming right for her. "_DRAGON SLAVE!!_" 

The sheer magnitude of power that she released sent her staggering backwards, and she was dimly aware of Malcho catching her in his wings as she struggled to keep the spell's blast on course as it slammed into, then overpowered the black magick spell that was aimed at her, hitting the sorcerer head on. The resulting explosion must have shaken the very Earth to it's core, and she inwardly cringed as dirt and debris rained down on both her and Malcho, a testament of how powerful her spell had been. 

Luckily, she was unconscious before the air cleared, so she was saved the sight of the sixty foot crater that had replaced the clearing and a large portion of the surrounding rainforest. 

Malcho however.... 

"_¡Mi dios!!_" 

############### 

"So you're the reason behind the uprising against deforestation." 

Lashana rolled her eyes, then threw a stale muffin at Nightcrawler, grumbling when he merely teleported out of the way and reappeared on the other side of the Kitchen. "It was the first time I had woven the Dragon Slave. I didn't know how destructive it was!" 

"Hmpft. And you left me alone to discover that too, amiga." Malcho smirked as he reached out to playfully nudge her in the ribs with a pinfeather, chuckling when she swatted at his wing. "My state of mind after seeing that was not all that stable." 

"I was _unconscious._ It's not like I had a lot of choice." 

"And naturally you hadn't read up on the spell to learn of the side-effects, did you?" Tvashtar mused as he looked over at her, chuckling when she winced. "I'll take that as a 'no'." 

"It's a miracle you've survived this long," Kadrith snickered, grinning when his brother tried to smother his own laughter. 

"Oh, har har. Veeeery funny," Lashana muttered as she folded her arms over her chest and gave the audience an annoyed look. "Y'know, I think I just forgot the rest of the story." 

~Liar. Someone hold her down, I'll telepathically hack the rest of it out of her.~ 

"Don't even _think_ about it." Blackwargreymon growled, fixing the Pokemon with a scathing glare. 

Beast chuckled and looked at a sulking Mewtwo. "Besides, my friend, do you truly wish to delve into the insanity that is Lashana's mind? I would think that such a mental venture would leave you with many undesired side-effects, would it not?" 

"I resent that," the Elf grumbled sourly, eliciting a low chuckle from the quetzacoatl. 

"If you will not finish the story amiga, then I shall. Now, after witnessing the destruction of a portion of my Homeland, I was understandably upset. But not as much as to not be worrying about mi amiga, who had now been unconscious for the span of three hours. My concern for her grew to such a point that as soon as I found a safe place to rest, I was forced to resort to rather.... desperate measures...." 

############### 

Lashana drifted in that lovely space between full sleep and wakefulness, perfectly content to merely ignore the world as a whole and let the darkness that was blissful unconsciousness continue to wrap her in comforting waves of total relaxation. 

Unfortunately, while her mind wasn't in a state to take in the events going on around her, her sense of smell was still functioning. Hence the fact that it was strongly protesting to the sharp scent of a plant of some sort that was being waved directly over her face. The protest was sent into the darkness that was enveloping the coherent part of the Elf's mind, amplified itself, and basically dragged her screaming and struggling back into the land of the awake. 

"Ugh!" Her hand shot out and smacked the foul-smelling thing away from her face, a grimace of disgust spreading over her lips as she opened her eyes and glared up into the greatly relieved face of a rather large snake. 

"Mi amiga!" 

Any protest she could have made was cut off by the wings that wrapped around her and pulled her against a scaled chest, the powerful hug momentarily driving the air out of her lungs before she was partially released and held at arms length... wings length... whatever. "Malcho? What the--?" 

"Are you alright? Por favor, muchacha, answer me!" 

"Shh, not so loud. I'm fine... I think. Except for the fact that I have this sudden hatred of plants..." She rose a hand and gently massaged her aching temple, hearing a low rumble of worry leave the quetzacoatl before she was lifted and placed on a bed of coiled muscle. "What happened? Is the sorcerer--" 

"Gone. Completely destroyed." He shook his head slightly and looked at her. "Along with a large portion of the rainforest." 

The colour drained from her face. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry, I didn't know...." 

"The forest will reclaim what belongs to it in time, amiga. No worries. I'd imagine that after the next couple of monsoons that we'll have ourselves a brand new lake." 

"_Lake?!_" 

"Well, perhaps 'lake' is too much. At the very least a new pond...." Malcho trailed off at the look on her face and mentally hit himself with something blunt and hard before he lowered his head and gently nuzzled her left shoulder. "Mi amiga.... It's alright. Calmarse, Lashana. All is well. Though I'm not too fond of you for throwing that ice spell at me." 

She growled softly. "I was _trying_ to get you out of the line of fire, you big stubborn snake! And what were you _thinking_ trying to attack him like that?! You could have been killed!" 

"I was trying to keep him from killing _you._ Besides, I am not the one who passed out after dabbling in the Dark Arts, amiga." 

Sighing in defeat, she glanced away and grimaced. "Yeah well... let's just say I don't think I'll be using that spell again anytime soon. Not only was it way to powerful for me to fully control, but I feel horrid." She rose her right arm and frowned when she saw the shattered talisman jewel. "Looks like I destroyed my only talismans too. Dammit." 

Silence fell over them then, broken only by the sounds of the rainforest around them. It was another minute before Malcho moved closer to her and wrapped his wings around her, daring to hug her to him. "I owe you my life, mi amiga. Gracias. Muchas gracias, amiga. I thought for certain when the portal dragged you into it that you were never to return...." 

"I would have gotten back sooner if I hadn't gotten knocked out in the process," she murmured as she leaned against him, letting him lightly flick his tongue over her face as he tested her scent. "I'm alright, Malcho." 

"Si. But...." 

"What?" 

"You have to return home now, si?" He released her and pulled away, trying to make sense of the emotions rolling through him. "I... I do not wish to never see you again, amiga." 

"It's not like I can bring you with me. Giant snakes aren't exactly common place in my world. And there's no way you'd fit in my apartment...." At his crestfallen expression, she sighed and lightly trailed her left hand over his good wing. "I'll see what I can do about getting Telca to portal me back here once and a while. Say... once every week or so?" 

"Really?!" 

"Why not? With the stuff I put up with at work I need a good vacation every couple of weeks and I love the forests. Besides I --ack! ....Malcho.... Lashana.... need.... air.... urk....." 

"Sorry! Sorry!" He loosened his coils and wings from around her and waited until she had finished gasping for breath before hugging her again, more carefully this time. "Gracias, amiga." 

############# 

"Awww, that's so sweet." Nightcrawler drawled as Malcho leaned down to gently nuzzle the Elf's left shoulder. "So you two have always been in contact since then? But... you never told Telca, right?" 

"Would you? She probably would have used him as a moving target," Lashana pointed out, blinking when she saw that Kang, Tvashtar and Kadrith were slowly backing away from the island counter. The reason was the twitching Digimon that was sitting there, and she rolled her eyes as she hopped onto the counter and lightly whacked him. "Blackie, you're my Bonded and I love you, but one of these days, if you don't get this idiotic jealousy of yours under control, I'm gonna hit you with something. Like a two-by-four." 

He blinked at her for a moment, then smirked and shoved her off the counter, letting her fall back into Malcho's coils. "I'm not jealous. Kang just dropped a steaming taco on my lap." 

"Oh." She blushed slightly. "Sorry?" 

Kadrith chuckled at her embarrassed tone and walked over to her until they were pretty much eye to eye. "Here's another question for you." He jerked a thumb over his right shoulder, pointing to Blackwargreymon. How'd you end up with him?" 

Lashana chuckled and lightly tapped him on the end of his muzzle. "Sore wa himitsu desu!" she grinned, cackling when the entire audience, Malcho included, did a unified facevault that shook the Palace down to it's very foundations. 


End file.
